


Searching For The Light

by Sakurasamuraix



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Action & Romance, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Bending (Avatar TV), Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), Fluff and Angst, Gay Zuko (Avatar), M/M, Past Child Abuse, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:36:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 33,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26918971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sakurasamuraix/pseuds/Sakurasamuraix
Summary: After being cast out from the Fire Nation, Zuko, under the guise of Lee, hopes to make a new life in Ba Sing Se with his uncle. After beginning to attend the esteemed university in the Earth Capital, Zuko thinks he may find peace in a life here. He meets a Boy from the Southern Water Tribe (Sokka) and a girl from a small island in the Earth Kingdom (Suki).The three form strong bonds despite the differences in their homes and upbringings.But their friendships will be tested when hostilities resume between the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation. Because as long as Ozai is in power, peace can never last. Perhaps something may change that...(Aka- a piece where these three friends meet each other in school, get launched back into a chaotic resumed war in which they have to kick fire nation ass and deal with Zuko’s OP sister, followed by trying to fix political turmoil in the aftermath while still dealing with a significant amount of espionage all the while Sokka and Zuko learn just how much they mean to each other)
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 42





	1. Zuko (Lee)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! I’ve been a huge A;tLA fan for years, and now as a college student myself who recently has been rewatching the show, I’ve been inspired to draft a piece for it! Ive always adored Sokka and Zuko, so its only natural they’d be the focus haha. 
> 
> Anyways, I hope some people may enjoy this, I’m mostly writing it for myself to get back into writing but I’m excited enough to share it!
> 
> Also- please leave me any criticism or suggestions! I’m always looking to improve!

Zuko found himself standing in front of the bathroom mirror, body damp and warm from sweat. He splashed water on his face in vain attempts to cool off, but he couldn’t fight the feeling of the sweltering heat on his face. He looked at his reflection, touching the scar tissue, pink and uneven around his eye, cool to his fingertips. If only he could convince his brain. When his eyes met his own in the dark mirror, illuminated only by the faint moonlight, it took everything in him not to smash the face he saw into thousands of tiny shards. All those years ago, when he first awoke in those sunless, silent morning hours to the same nightmare that still plagued him today he couldn’t do anything to fight the tears from streaming, but now the tears have all dried up. After a heated stand-off with his own reflection, Zuko finally broke eye contact, turning away from the mirror. His heavy steps back to his bed caused the wooden floorboards to let out creaks that rung loud in the stark silence of the dark room. As he flopped back onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling, Zuko let his anger subside. Instead letting a horrible sense of dread and regret take its place. You never take back the past. He wanted nothing more than to let go, to let his new life here be all that his uncle said it could be, but as it always happens actuality is far from those idyllic hopes. 

Zuko had only recently settled in with his uncle. Moving into the spare room in his quaint apartment above his uncle's tea shop, The Jasmine Dragon. He felt guilty imposing, however his uncle insisted it was his pleasure to have his nephew live with him. He was eternally grateful to his uncle, for being there for him, even if he had difficulty admitting it. He was more than happy to be able to help his uncle in the shop, though his demeanor and comments would suggest otherwise. But getting used to living here was the easy part. He got comfortable with the routine of simple work during the day and calm evenings spent alone, or with his uncle. Tomorrow would break the cycle, and he was wary of the change.

His first day at the esteemed Ba Sing Se University was approaching fast as the pale moonlight began to be replaced by warm rays of sun. The soft yellow light breaking Zuko out of his trance as that realization set in. He had difficulty staving off the barrage of thoughts that came as he began to picture all the possible horrible scenarios that could occur in the next few hours. His heart began hammering loud in his chest, he thought about just not going, but he was reminded of the conversation he had had a few nights prior with his uncle about that very prospect. His uncle chided him with a dramatic speech about how Zuko needed to make the most of this opportunity to realize his potential, as it certainly was not his destiny to wait tables in a tea shop for his whole life. He knew he needed, and wanted to go to the university, a secret small part of him harbored hope that maybe he could find answers there, that he could find out what, as his uncle would say, his “destiny” was. He wanted to hold on to that little glimmer of hope, as unrealistic as he felt it was, it seemed to be the only thing keeping him going. But as life seemed to disappoint him more and more at every turn, that little glimmer dimmed. He feared that if this didn’t go well, he wouldn’t have anything left to hold on to. 

Zuko felt he needed to clear his head before he could do anything else. He figured a run in the brisk morning air would be the best solution. After changing Zuko slipped out of his room, doing his best to remain quiet, so as not to wake his uncle. As soon as he crept through the tea shop’s door the cool air immediately sent a wave of relief through his body. Deep breaths. After a short moment, Zuko found himself on auto-pilot, his legs moving in mechanical rhythm as he ran through the empty streets in the faint early morning light. He allowed himself to let go of all the anxious thoughts that threatened to overwhelm him, and think of nothing but steady breaths. At some point Zuko finally let his brain switch back on as he found himself slowing down to catch his breath. He was on a familiar street, lined with small dormant shops and restaurants, not unlike the tea shop that he now regarded as his home. Though he was loath to let himself think about the coming day again, there was one thing he needed to keep straight. Here, he wasn’t Zuko, an exiled fire nation prince, but Lee, a regular earth nation guy. Just Lee.

As Zuko made his way back to The Jasmine Dragon, the sun was significantly brighter in the morning sky, indicating the time for him to face the day was nearly upon him. It’ll be fine. Stepping into the door, the strong aroma of freshly brewed tea hit him, filling his senses with the herbal fragrance. 

“Ah, Zuko, tea?” His uncle’s voice called to him before he was barely two steps in. Zuko found himself approaching his uncle and taking the cup from his outreached hand before he had even thought to respond. “A good cup of tea always calms the nerves.” He said, offering his nephew a comforting smile.

“Thank you, uncle.” Zuko responded, allowing himself to sound earnest. His uncle seemed to sense Zuko’s internal paranoia through that one small clue, as he always did. “Remember Zuko, this is a good opportunity for you. Please, allow yourself the chance to be happy here.” His uncled offered a reassuring pat on his nephews tensed shoulders. 

“Uncle, I just… what if…” Zuko began without even knowing what he was trying to say, just letting his mind dive back into the list of awful scenarios he tried to clear out, evidently without success. Luckily, the older man took over the conversation again, sparing him the need to finish his sentence. “If you look for the light, you can often find it. But if you look for the dark that’s all you’ll ever see” his uncle offered sagely, as he took a seat at the low table, taking a small sip of the freshly brewed tea following his final word. 

“Ugh, what does that even mean!?” Zuko exclaimed, irritated by his uncle's inability to offer advice without some form of cryptic wording. His uncle only opened his eyes slightly, tilting his head down as he gave his nephew a look that he’d known very well at this point. Zuko knew what his uncle was trying to say, or at least he thought he did, and though he would choose to hide it, his uncle's words added some fuel to that little flame of hope he had that today could change his life for the better. 

Zuko set his cup gently on the table his uncle was seated at, he’d learned his lesson about being careful with the delicate porcelain, after finding himself cleaning up inordinate amounts of broken shards in his first couple weeks living with his uncle. “Didn’t even take a sip. My own nephew! Disrespecting a delicious cup of tea!” His uncle exclaimed with obvious dramatic flair as Zuko started towards the stairs. As he stepped up the first stair Zuko looked back at his uncle who was shaking his head at him with a forced frown on his lips. He quickly began climbing the stairs, repressing a smile as he did.

Stepping back out onto the street after offering a short farewell to his uncle, Zuko fell into the increasing morning bustle. There were a fair amount of people milling about the street now, mostly shop owners preparing their storefronts and a few people enjoying casual morning strolls, many offering polite waves and nods towards Zuko as he made his way towards the university. He offered slight waves back to the kind stranger's greetings, but tried to keep his head down, always instinctively trying to ward off unnecessary attention.

The calm part of his journey was nearly at its end as Zuko approached a much larger street which, even at the fairly early hour, was seeing significant foot traffic. The street was filled with sounds of casual conversations of the various citizens commuting to their various destinations. There were also a fair number of younger school children in groups laughing amongst themselves on their way to their schools. 

Amongst the blur of typical Earth Nation greens and browns, not unlike those that Zuko was sporting himself, some distinct orange and yellow fashions caught his eye amongst the crowd. Zuko allowed himself a quick glance upwards, he witnessed a short exchange between an older man wearing the vibrant orange robe that caught his eye, and a man selling fruits at a small stand on the side of the street. The bald man had very distinct blue arrows tattooed on his head and along his arms, identifying to Zuko that this man must be one of the many refugees of the Air Nation who have recently taken up residence in the city. He noted the slight frown on the vendor's face as the refugee offered a respectful bow after their exchange before ducking his view back down to his feet as he continued down the path. 

As Zuko closed in on his destination, the thoughts in his head had grown into a screeching cacophony that left several thoughts bouncing around his head, but he wasn’t able to decipher any single one. All he knew was that his anxiety had reached a boiling point as he took the first steps onto the campus, surrounded by a large number of his peers. He was terrified that amidst all these people, someone was bound to recognize him if he drew even a little bit of attention to himself. He took every precaution he could to ensure that nobody could get a good look at his scarred face as he attempted to find his way to his first class. He looked several times between the map of the seemingly over large campus, and the schedule he had been given that denoted the location of his classroom, but he found the place far more confusing to navigate in person than it seemed it would be on paper. After several wrong turns, and encountering multiple buildings he was sure were nowhere to be found on his map, he began to fear he wasn’t going to find his class on time. The thought of entering late and having everyone’s eyes on him as he entered the room was almost enough to have him turn around and just run from the whole scene. Zuko held strong though, reminding himself of his uncle’s words. I can do this. He took a deep breath closing his eyes for a moment as he took a few steps forward. And in a flash he was suddenly not walking, but falling. Before he could even register what had happened, he felt a pain on his left arm as he found himself picking himself off the stone pavement. 

“Whoa, owwww” Zuko heard a voice of a young guy, cry out with a prolonged groan.  
He looked to the left of him to see the source of the voice, and the pain in his arm. 

“Watch where you’re going!” Zuko yelled out in reactive anger, trying to mask the worry and embarrassment he felt falling to the ground amongst so many people. Internally fighting the feeling that everyone would be staring at him and judging him.

“I’m sooooo sorry man, I…” Zuko looked at the boy now, taking time to note his appearance, which stood out far more than he expected to see. The boy wasn’t dressed in the typical fare, he had a very distinct style that Zuko had never seen before. His clothes were a pale blue color, unlike the natural tones most of the Earth Nation favored, and the shirt he wore had a distinct “V” shape to the neckline, and it lacked sleeves. His skin was a sun kissed tan, far different from Zuko’s own palor. But perhaps the most notable aspect was his hair. Unlike any he’d ever seen the boy sported closely shaven hair aside from a small tight tail atop his head, unlike any of the topknots Zuko had seen on many men he’d encountered in his life. He noticed the boy finally pulling himself off the ground, as he gathered up the papers scattered on the floor between them. Zuko suddenly realized the boy had been talking this whole time and he hadn’t registered anything he had said. Starting to feel the anxiety rise back into his chest he tried hard to get out of his own head and focus on the words being said as the boy started analyzing the papers he’d gather off the ground. 

“I’m just tryna find my history class, but this place is seriously a MAZE, it's like they want us all to get lost!” The boy exclaimed loudly, laughing at himself as he did so. “Wait… this isn’t mine. Must be yours.” He said, reaching out to offer a couple papers to Zuko. He quickly, and roughly snatched his schedule and map from the boys hands, making sure not to make eye-contact with the boy. “I almost thought that was my schedule, we’re doing a lot of the same stuff! Is this your first year here too?” The boy inquired, sounding perfectly amicable. Zuko however, wasn’t in the mood for exchanging pleasantries with someone who so rudely crashed into him. He, however, also knew that making an enemy out of the first person he spoke to at the school would be a bad idea as well, so he reluctantly replied with a stern nod. “If you were looking for professor Chang’s class, it’s actually this way” the boy motioned in the direction he was headed when he crashed into Zuko. “How would you know where I’m going” Zuko fired back quickly, not caring to mask the annoyance in his words.  
“Well, uh” the boy started rubbing the back of his neck, “I’m actually looking for the same class, I just asked someone back there where it was because I got lost like eight times already” he let out a slightly sheepish laugh. Zuko felt a little comforted by the fact that he wasn’t alone in his confusion, it helped him calm his nerves a bit.

“Gah, we’d better hurry!” The strange boy exclaimed in a panic after quickly glancing up. He quickly grabbed ahold of Zuko’s wrist, dragging him along behind him as he made a mad dash towards the supposed direction of their class. It took him by complete surprise. Zuko struggled to keep on his feet as the boy tugged him through crowds of students, trying his best to maneuver without colliding with yet another person. “Hold on! What are you doing! Let go of me!” Zuko yelled out he wasn’t sure if he was angry or not, but he was shouting all the same. But the boy didn’t unhand him, either because he didn’t hear Zuko’s words, or because he was just too determined to care. The boy came to a sharp stop in front of a white stone building that didn’t stand out at all amongst the many other similar facades around them, Zuko almost found himself crashing into the boy a second time as he attempted to catch himself after the abrupt halt. “We’re here!” The boy exclaimed through loud pants, obviously needing to catch his breath, he threw his free hand into the air as he gestured towards the building. Still clutching Zuko’s wrist tightly, the boy pulled him through the open door of the building and continued to drag him through the halls taking a couple sharp turns before stopping in front of a classroom. “Actually, now we’re here!” The boy shouted, finally releasing Zuko from his grasp, bending over with both hands on his knees as he took deep breaths. Zuko sharply pulled his wrist back to the front of his chest, rubbing the area with his other hand. “Aaannnd, with a couple minutes to spare!” The boy sprang up closing his eyes and making a proud grin as he pointed his index fingers up towards the ceiling. Zuko wasn’t sure what to say, instead opting to just glare at the boy as he continued massaging his wrist.

The boy proceeded to push open the door to the classroom, holding it open for Zuko as he prompted “After you” with a slight bow of his head. Zuko rolled his eyes at the boy as he walked through the doorway. He spotted an unassuming table in the back of the room, that he chose to make his way towards, head still tilted towards the ground. He could hear footsteps close behind him, presumably belonging to the boy who dragged him here, please do not sit next to me, he thought, hoping he could will the message to reach the boy without him having to say anything. However, as he took the seat in the far corner of the room, the chair directly next to him was immediately filled. After settling in their seats, the blue clothed boy extended his hand towards Zuko. “Sokka” he said with a soft smile. Reluctantly, Zuko took his hand and responded with a firm shake. “Lee” he spat out quickly, careful not to look at the boy. 

“Pleasure to meet you sir Lee Hotman” the boy laughed far too hard, slapping his own knee “get it? Hotman? Like hothead, oooh, I crack myself up” Sokka exclaimed through his overlong fit of laughter. “I’m not a hothead” Zuko retorted through tightly clenched teeth as he repressed the urge to shout. This only served to reignite the blue boy’s chortling, as he was now bent over the table resting his forehead on the wood while banging his fist against it. Zuko crossed his arms tight across his chest, turning to face away from the boy making a ruckus beside him. After finally calming down, Sokka put his hand on Zuko’s shoulder as he said, voice thick with sarcasm, “Suuurre” still quietly laughing to himself as he wiped a tear from his eye with his other hand “I’m just messing with you, Man, it really is nice to meet you.” The boy replied, now finally over his bout and sounding significantly more sincere. Zuko felt himself relax a bit, despite the boy’s hand still resting on his shoulder. He turned, finally facing the boy directly. Releasing the tension in his jaw, he let himself reply, “likewise” Sokka offered back a smile, as Zuko inspected the boys eyes, which just like his clothes were a unique blue, though the shade of his eyes was deeper, more striking. Zuko suddenly realized he’d left his face in too clear of view for too long, as he noticed the boy's eyes seemed to fixate on the grotesque scar that marked him. He felt himself tensing back up, as he swiftly turned his face away from the boy, shrugging his still lingering hand off his shoulder in the process. 

Zuko wasn’t sure if the boy was going to say anything about his scar or not, but thankfully the professor entered the room, immediately commanding the full attention of the students with her intimidating presence. Zuko took careful note of the professor's strict policies and expectations for the course going forward. He was determined to be a model student, and live up to what was expected of a student at this esteemed institution, not wanting to squander the opportunity by messing up. But a muffled giggle resonating from his tablemate was trying his focus. Zuko shot him a sideways glare, the blue-eyed boy, noticing his look, moved his hand off of his mouth and mouthed the word “Cattywampus” before covering his mouth again in an attempt to hide his immature laughter. Something about the sight left Zuko fighting a similar sound that threatened to escape his own mouth, rather than the anger he expected. He had to take extra care to pay attention to the professor in order to resist the urge. 

The rest of the period continued in a similar fashion, Zuko had to make sure not to make the mistake of looking at the boy beside him as he continued to titter at any words he found mildly entertaining. After the professor gathered her things and exited the room, the students began filing out, Sokka and Zuko were stuck waiting for others to leave, given their distance from the door. “Mr Hotman, you sure were taking that seriously!” The blue boy chided. “Of course! It's only our entire future at stake!” Zuko retorted, a bit too intensely, causing a couple heads in front of them to turn towards him as they made their way into the hall. The attention he attracted let Zuko know he needed to lower his volume, “you were not taking it seriously enough! Professor Chang was hardly comedic!” Zuko scolded with a tight jaw. “Sorry, dad, but who talks like that? I mean…” Sokka began to do what could only be assumed was an impression of professor Chang “if you are to submit a portfolio in cattywampus disarray, i will not hesitate to…” he broke down laughing again, “i mean come on, there’s like a hundred ways to say askew, she just had to pick the most hilarious one!” Zuko found himself once again biting back a smile. Perhaps the boy was more intelligent than Zuko had been giving him credit for. Sokka continued “you thought so too! I saw you! You’re good at holding it in, but I saw!” Rather than angrily, Zuko found himself responding sarcastically instead, mocking the blue boy’s tone “Suuuure”. He let himself smirk, but only a little bit. 

Upon leaving the building Zuko parted ways with Sokka, who after an over dramatic farewell to “Mr Hotman” dashed off into the sea of students to find his next class. Zuko couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the thought of the boy colliding head on with some other unlucky stranger as he carelessly sprinted through the densely populated paths. Zuko had to find his own class, this time at his own much more average pace.

After a few more classes following roughly the same general mold, long lecture from the professor about rules, and expectations of the students in their course and Zuko carefully taking notes in order to ensure he fulfills the requirements he’s expected to, which was much easier to do without a certain boy emitting distracting sounds in his ear. Though Zuko enjoyed his peaceful planning, the silence in the rest of his classes did stand out, and he wasn’t sure if it was in a good way. 

Zuko started to notice there was more than just an underlying flutter of anxiety in his stomach, but he started to get rather hungry. He didn’t have any idea what his plan was for lunch, he didn’t bring anything, and he wasn’t sure if there was anything to eat on the campus that would be in close enough proximity to his next courses. Face buried in the confusing map, Zuko unknowingly stumbled into a courtyard where he heard a familiar voice call out.

“Heeeeey, Mr. Hotman!” Zuko tore his gaze from the paper and looked around to find the source of the sound. “Overrr heeeerrrree!” He heard again, turning swiftly on the balls of his feet immediately catching sight of the blue boy once again, he was frantically motioning Zuko over to the table he was seated at. He thought about approaching the boy, but opted to instead continue forward, looking back at his map. He was only able to take a few steps before hearing loud footsteps approaching him fast. “Busy.” He stated firmly, not looking up to see the boy who had just caught up to him. “Don’t be like that, you know you missed me!” Sokka exclaimed, throwing an arm over Zuko’s shoulder as he matched his stride. Zuko tensed a little at the contact, and made a weak attempt to shrug him off, which was unsuccessful. “Mr Hotman, you sure do have a way with words don’t you… maybe I should call you Chatterbox instead!” the pride he felt in himself was abundantly evident in his tone. “How about neither!” Zuko offered with a restrained shout, brow creasing as his fists clenched around the map in his hands. “Hotman it is!” Sokka laughed, moving the arm that rested on Zuko’s shoulder to clap him on the back. “Seriously though, take a load off, I know you’ve got a break right now.” The boy lightly grabbed Zuko by the arm, tugging him towards a nearby table. “And how would you know, I’ve got time for this?” Zuko responded dryly, not offering much resistance to Sokka’s attempt to veer him off his course. “I saw your schedule, and I never forget a schedule!” The blue boy shook his head lightly with his statement. They made their way to a table in the middle of the airy courtyard. Upon arrival Sokka released Zuko from him grip and he hopped into the seat, gesturing for Zuko to sit across from him. The boy was right, he did have a break right now, so he obliged and took the seat.

“Hungry?” The boy inquired, pulling a small package out of his pocket, tossing it over to Zuko who caught it right before it hit his face. “Mountain Muchies! All sorts of delicious stuff in that mix!” Sokka exclaimed excitedly as Zuko gave the package a once over. Inspecting the contents, he didn’t seem to see anything that repulsed him, and he was hungry, so he tore it open offering the boy a nod “thanks.” 

“No prob, Hotman.” The blue boy replied, with a grin proceeding to pull another package of ‘Mountain Munchies’ from his pocket. He began to tear at the packaging, when it wouldn’t budge, he put it between his teeth to attempt to rip it open. He pulled a little too hard, causing the package to bust as he somehow ended up hitting himself in the head with the hand holding on to the bottom half. The contents of the snack bounced around the table and the floor surrounding them Sokka let out a defeated sigh as he rubbed his forehead, eyebrows scrunched tightly in the middle. Zuko swore his lack of sleep was catching up to him, as he let out a small, but still audible snort. He cursed himself for his break in character, wincing slightly as if it caused him physical pain. Sokka didn’t let his slip up go unnoticed as his eyes immediately lit up when he heard the sound. “So you are human! I was starting to worry…” the blue eyed boy joked. “Maybe” Zuko replied with a shrug. He had to be tired.

The boy eyed what little food still remained in the part of the packaging he still held in his hand and dumped the contents into his mouth. “So, what’s your story Hotman?” The blue boy inquired, patting the bottom of the small bag to free the crumbs stuck to the bottom onto his outstretched tongue. “Don’t have one.” Zuko replied, offering his half eaten snack back to the boy. He shook his head slightly, refusing to take the bag, instead cupping his hands together. Zuko dumped half of the bag into Sokka’s hands. “Impossible” The blue-eyed boy stated, not bother to finish chewing before doing so. After swallowing he added “everyone has a story” popping another crunchy piece into his mouth. “Not me. It’d bore you” Zuko replied looking down at the table again. “Try me!” Sokka offered, reaching across the table to give Zuko a light shove. Zuko didn’t say anything, keeping his head down, even if he wanted to reply he didn’t know what to say. A moment of silence passed before Sokka cut back in.”Well, mine is a tale of an EPIC water tribe warrior who braved the sea venturing to unknown lands making his way to this fancy giant city, where he ran into a stick-in-the-mud hothead, literally.” The boy tried hard to sound serious, despite obviously trying to get a reaction out of Zuko, however something he said did peak Zuko’s interest, prompting him to look back up at the boy who was making dramatic hand motions. “Water tribe?” Zuko hadn’t ever met anyone from a water tribe, though that would explain the boy’s unique features. “Yep, you’re looking at the South Pole’s best looking, strongest AND brightest!” Sokka exclaimed offering a sly close-eyed smile towards Zuko. He felt a small twinge of guilt well up in his chest hearing that. When he didn’t get a response from Zuko he added “shocked speechless by my dazzling presence I’m sure!” After a moment, as Sokka’s smile began to fall Zuko replied “I can’t believe it.” Zuko replied with mock enthusiasm slowly shaking his hands in front of his chest. The blue boy let out a loud, certainly dramatic chuckle.

The two continued the chat lightly, about their first day impressions, and what they look forward to this year. Sokka revealed he wanted to learn about engineering, and all the revolutionary technologies he had heard about that were changing the world in the earth nation. Zuko envied his childlike enthusiasm and sense of purpose, sharing that he wasn’t sure what he hoped to pursue exactly. They found that both of them had only recently moved to Ba Sing Se, though Zuko had a couple weeks on Sokka, so the blue boy demanded that he owed him a tour since he knew more. Zuko still had a lot of questions on his mind about the Southern Water Tribe that Sokka called home, the whole idea was an enigma to him, but that twinge of guilt held him back, besides it wasn’t fair to ask the boy such private questions if he knew he wouldn’t be able to answer those questions if they were asked of him. 

The sun was a warm orange in the late afternoon sky as Zuko started his trek back to his uncle’s tea shop. He spent his walk in careful contemplation, repeating the information he didn’t want to forget in his head in an attempt to get it ingrained into his memory. The main road, which was bustling with activity during his morning commute was now experiencing a lull in traffic, before the evening activity would draw people back to the scene. The less populated roads helped Zuko keep his focus, by the time he arrived back at the shop, he felt confident that he’d be able to recall all the information he’d been repeating. With the small sense of accomplishment settling in, he was able to return home feeling far more serene than he had anticipated he would. Opening the door rang a little bell, alerting his uncle, along with the few customers dispersed throughout the room of his arrival.

“Ah, Nephew! How was your day?” His uncle asked with a mellow voice as he poured tea into a smiling customer's cup. Zuko walked towards the counter in the back of the shop as he mulled over how to answer his uncle’s question. He thought about all the classes, and how many things he had to remember, causing a spike of anxiety to raise in his chest, but it was quickly overridden by a different, softer feeling as he thought about the water-tribe boy he had met. “It was… nice.” Zuko replied, hiding a small smile as he faced away from his uncle, pulling his work apron over his head.


	2. Zuko (Lee)

The next morning, Zuko awoke with an unusual enthusiasm. He was glad to see the sun seeping through the small window above his bed, letting him know that he’d actually slept through the night. It was still early in the morning, so he figured he had time to go for a run, despite not feeling like he needed to let off any steam. His shoes hit the pavement hard as he settled into the pace of his stride. He felt lighter today than he had in all his numerous morning runs since he arrived in the city, his steps feeling more like little leaps that a run. For once, instead of focusing on pushing out the negative thoughts to clear his head, Zuko found himself able to think about something… positive. He felt a sense of confidence in himself he wasn’t used to, he felt like he really might be heading towards the peaceful new life his uncle had hoped he could find here. It may have only been the first day at Ba Sing Se University, but Zuko felt confident that he would be able to get a lot out of his courses there. He was also relieved that no one seemed to recognize him, letting him hope that he could let his guard down, just a little. Unlike the previous day, Zuko thought he might actually be looking forward to what the day may bring. 

Zuko returned to the shop still feeling as energized as he did when he had set out earlier. He spotted his uncle brewing tea in a small kettle as he entered the shop, he must’ve been extremely focused on getting the flavor just right, as he paid no attention to the ringing bell as the door opened. Zuko just climbed the stairs, not wanting to distract his uncle, as he knew that the perfect tea was very important to him. Zuko quickly peeled off his sweat soaked clothes before going to the restroom to clean up a bit. Stepping back into the room, the angle of the sun shining through the glass alerted him that he may have been too leisurely in his morning routine. He kicked himself into high-gear, swiftly gathering a few supplies off his desk in a small satchel before slipping on the first thing he could grab from his wardrobe. He rushed down the stairs, satchel in hand, offering a quick “bye” to his Uncle as he pushed open the door to the street. 

He continued down his route, walking at a much brisker pace than his previous commute, not wanting to end up late knowing how important punctuality was to professor Chang. He cursed himself for not being more attentive to the time, letting the stress get to him for the first time, souring the once peaceful morning. He maneuvered through crowds of people gathered on the main road leading to the university, making sharp movements to avoid colliding with the unsuspecting people milling about the street. Following the same steps he was dragged through the previous day, Zuko made his way to professor Chang’s room with hardly a moment to spare. Entering the room, he noticed the blue boy in the back of the room who was excitedly pointing at the chair next to him as he looked up at Zuko. He rolled his eyes at the boy, but obliged to his request and approached the seat. The boy may be immature and distracting, but he hadn’t seemed to judge Zuko like he felt others had, so it seemed safe. 

“Hey Hotman!” The blue boy enthused. “I found a place that's supposed to have some delicious meats that’s not too far, figured we could go there for lunch” Sokka exclaimed with a smile. Zuko felt a strange feeling hearing the boys words. He was confused, wondering if the boy had actually thought about him and wanted to make plans with him? He felt almost guilty at the idea of occupying the boy's thoughts.  
“Who said I have time for that?” Zuko replied, trying to keep whatever he was feeling concealed.  
“I did.” The blue boy replied with a proud grin. “Besides, everyone has time for mouth-watering meats” Sokka waved his hand dismissively. Before Zuko could respond, professor Chang’s voice filled the room, and he turned his attention towards her. At least, he tried to, but the conversation with Sokka kept echoing in his head. It had been years since anyone other than his uncle had expressed a desire to be near Zuko. He had figured his face would deter most people, and if that wasn’t enough his attitude would surely put off the rest. Zuko had grown accustomed to the loneliness, maybe even comfortable in it. However, the prospect of someone actually wanting to spend time with him made him feel strange. He couldn’t work out exactly what he felt, he could identify that familiar guilty twinge that he knew too well, but that was only a small part of what he was feeling. For the most part, he… liked the feeling, it made his stomach twist, and his heart pound, but it wasn’t the same as the anxiety that often overwhelmed him. Zuko thought that he may not mind if the blue boy wanted to be around him, because maybe he wanted to be around Sokka as well.

Before Zuko knew it, professor Chang had finished her lecture and was making her way out of the room. He cursed himself for not paying attention for nearly the whole thing. He barely had a clue what she had even been discussing as he stupidly allowed his mind to linger on his feelings for far too long. He just hoped that the information wasn’t too important, and that he’d be able to recover by reading the book. Boy beside him pulled him out of his thoughts as his his fist brushed against Zuko’s head. Taken aback, Zuko turned to face the boy who was letting out a deep yawn as he stretched his arms wide, invading Zuko’s space. 

“Man, it was so hard not to fall asleep.” The boy said shaking his head as he stood up.  
“Why are you taking a history class if history bores you.” Zuko replied, not willing to reveal that he hadn't paid attention to the lecture himself.  
“I like history, but I didn’t think she’d start sooo long ago!” The boy exclaimed loudly as the pair walked out into the hall “like, who cares if an early humanoid thing used rocks to break nuts” Sokka flailed his arms, attempting to imitate the action . “I want to learn more about the good stuff, like the actual nations and all that” 

“I get what you mean… perhaps it was a little… boring” Zuko responded, conceding slightly, as he related to the blue boy’s sentiment, the history of the nations was what he was interested in as well, and he too was not thrilled to learn about now extinct pre-humans.  
“Thank you! Even Mr. Serious, agrees with me!” Sokka exclaimed, clapping his hand against Zuko’s shoulder, resting it there as they continued. “So, we’ll meet in the courtyard again, same time as yesterday. Then, I’ll show you the restaurant I was talking about!” Sokka said, as if Zuko had already agreed in the first place.  
“Fine.” Zuko replied, keeping his response brief to mask the emotion he felt welling up inside him.  
“Great! It’ll be fun!” Sokka enthused, letting his hand fall back to his side. As they exited the stone building, Zuko offered the blue boy a stiff wave as he began to walk away towards his next class. Sokka called out to Zuko once more  
“remember, mouth-watering meats!” The excitement was clear in his voice. Zuko didn’t turn around, he kept walking forward, trying to hide the smile on his lips as he ducked his head down. 

The next couple of classes dragged by, as Zuko found himself struggling to focus on the lectures his professors were giving. He knew he needed to give his undivided attention to their words if he hoped to succeed. But the stress of telling himself he needed to focus, and memorize everything was taxing. After a while he stopped hearing the words coming from the professors, only hearing his own voice telling himself to focus, and cursing him for failing to do so. All the positivity he felt earlier in the day had slowly seeped out of him, leaving room for all bad thoughts to return. He started to doubt himself, and his abilities he was so sure of only hours before. This wasn’t new. He’d lulled himself into false senses of security many times in his life only to be brought back to reality by his failures. It starts off as one lecture where Zuko would miss just a part of, but that's just the start. If he’s failing to retain a single lecture, how would he retain the knowledge needed for a whole course? If he failed a course then that certainly qualified as being a waste. A waste of time, and a waste of resources. 

He was spiraling, he knew it. He knew that part of his fears were irrational. He knew that he was making a bigger deal out of something than he needed to. But just because he was aware doesn’t mean he could fight the feelings. He couldn’t get it out of his head that he was worthless, a failure. He tried to calm himself by thinking of what his uncle would say, his uncle always seemed to know how to bring him back when he could feel himself slipping over the edge, but he couldn’t remember anything logical, mixing up words in his head. A voice in his head was echoing louder and louder, telling him he was stupid for thinking he’d be able to succeed here, stupid for thinking he could find any peace. He didn’t deserve it anyways.

It took everything in him to hold back the tears that stung at his eyes as he followed the current of students exiting the building. He couldn’t let his weakness show, he had to at least look composed, because he couldn’t even imagine what he would do if anyone saw through him. He felt so ashamed that he let himself get to this point, he knew better than to think about feelings, it never led to anything good. He got off course because he let his mind wander to something so unimportant. He was stuck in his head when he wandered into the courtyard, not paying any mind to his surroundings until he felt a warm hand on his shoulder.

“Hey Hotman! Ready for lunch?” Zuko heard the pleasant sounding boy, suddenly remembering what distracted him in the first place.  
“No!” Zuko shouted nearly at the top of his lungs, he roughly threw the water tribe boys hand off of him. The boy stumbled backwards, nearly losing his balance.  
“Woah, sorry man, I thought…” the boy’s excitement completely gone, his tone far more somber. Zuko glared up at him, jaw clenched tight. The boy must’ve noticed the water pooling in Zuko’s eyes, he wore a worried expression as he looked back at Zuko. He could feel his face burning, he wasn’t sure if it was rage, embarrassment or even guilt. He couldn’t sort out what it was, but it didn’t matter. He wanted to run, to just get out of there, away from Sokka, away from all the others eyes he could feel staring at him, but he didn’t have the chance to act on it before he felt the warmth of another body against his own as Sokka wrapped his arms around Zuko pulling him into a light embrace. He froze, tensing up in surprise. He thought he should be even more angry at the unexpected contact, but for some inexplicable reason he wasn’t. The touch suddenly made all the thoughts blaring in Zuko’s head go silent. The boy pulled away, Zuko looked up to see him raise his hand up to rub the back of his neck as he fixed his gaze downwards. 

“S-sorry” the boy began, flustered. But before he could say anything else Zuko’s body acted on its own accord, reaching out to embrace the boy again. The boy seemed to be taken by surprise, but he put his arms around Zuko anyways, resting his chin lightly on his dark hair. Zuko felt the hot tears drip from his face onto the blue fabric of the water-tribe boy’s shirt as he let go of all the built up tension in his muscles. He wasn’t sure what he was doing, he knew it wasn’t normal. He barely knew anything about this boy, and yet his touch was so grounding, so comforting. The tears stopped forming, and after a long moment, Zuko felt completely calm in the warmth of the other boy’s arms. He pushed lightly against the boy’s chest signaling him to release his arms from around Zuko’s back. He felt his face burning with embarrassment, he didn’t know what came over him, and he had no clue how to explain himself.

“Let’s walk?” Sokka proposed calmly, offering Zuko a small smile. Zuko just nodded in acceptance, following the boy as he began stepping forwards. The pair moved in a comfortable silence as Sokka led them to a sparsely populated path lined with tall trees towering over the stone walkway.  
“I’ve never been away from home.” Sokka started, none of his usual humor present in his voice “Coming here was a big decision… I chose to leave everyone and everything I knew, hoping I could find my way in the world coming here. I was excited when I got here, there’s so much to see in a city this big! But it wasn’t long before I started feeling out of place, and homesick. It’s been hard, and lonely in the past few months I spent traveling here and settling in.” The blue boy let out a sigh as he stopped walking, turning to look back at Zuko. His blue eyes looking right into Zuko’s “I don't know where I’m going with all this. But, just… thanks. I’m sorry if it was awkward, but I-I needed that.” Sokka’s voice was soft and sincere. Zuko was surprised to hear the boy open up so freely, but he felt for the boy. He knew what it was like to be lost and alone. 

“I… I…” Zuko took a deep breath, struggling to let himself admit it “Me too” Sokka smiled back at Zuko, a slight blush forming on his cheeks. The boy’s bright smile made Zuko feel at ease. Despite everything he had just witnessed, seeing Zuko break down and expose such weakness, he didn’t seem to think anything negative towards Zuko. For the first time in a long time Zuko felt like he could let down the walls he’d built up. 

“I get caught up in my own head… I let little things spiral out of control, and it's hard not to lash out at anyone, or everyone… I don’t know.” Zuko realized that this was the first time he ever tried to express the mess inside his head aloud to another person. It was frustrating being unable to express exactly what he meant. He felt the anxiety festering inside him as he thought about how vulnerable he felt. “I guess, well… most people don't want to deal with that. I don't blame them.” He let his eyes fell to the ground, forgetting he was actually speaking to someone “I’m not worth the trouble.”

“Yes, you are.” Sokka assured, resting his hand on Zuko’s shoulder, prompting him to meet his gaze once more. “No one can face the world all on their own. The only way people can make it out there is if they have each other’s backs, sharing each other’s burdens and helping each other overcome them.” The boy looked deeply into Zuko’s eyes for several seconds before lightly shaking his shoulder. Sokka removed his hand from Zuko’s shoulder to rub the back of his neck, as he seemed to do quite often. “At least that’s what my Gran would always tell me, when I’d refuse her help” the boy conceded with a shy smile. “Look, Lee, I just… I know I’m hardly more than a stranger, but I hope you know I mean it when I say I care. If you ever want someone to talk to, I’m here.” His voice was soft and smooth. Zuko believed him. He didn’t understand how someone could care about someone like him, but Sokka spoke with such sincerity that Zuko believed he truly did mean it. Zuko felt a strange sensation flutter up from his stomach, spreading to his chest and even lumping in his throat. All his frustration was gone, but he still found himself holding back tears. 

“Or ya know, someone to hug” the blue boy added with a chuckle, nudging Zuko with his shoulder as he started to walk forward again. Zuko let himself laugh along with the boy as they traveled side by side, releasing that pressure that formed in the back of his throat. 

“Thank you.” Zuko replied, though the words couldn’t fully express the genuine gratitude he felt for the boy standing beside him. “I… I’ll try to be there for you too” he added, hoping that Sokka could tell he also meant it.

“Careful there, I require a lot of hugs, are you sure you know what you’re getting yourself into?” The boy’s signature humor now returned to his voice. Zuko smiled, feeling a heat rise to his cheeks.

“Oh great…” Zuko tried his best to reply with dry sarcasm despite the blush he was sporting.

“Looks like we won't have time for lunch today” Sokka complained with a sigh “guess we’ll have to go tomorrow then!” 

“We don't have class tomorrow” Zuko reminded him, slightly disappointed if he was being honest with himself.

“I know. We’ll have more time then! You can give me that tour of the city you owe me” Sokka exclaimed excitedly, lightly elbowing Zuko’s side. “It's nice to finally have a friend here” 

Zuko’s eyes widened. A friend. Zuko couldn’t recall a time that anyone had ever regarded him as a friend. The concept was so foreign to him, he had no idea what it truly meant to be a friend. The thought of taking on that title worried him, as he wasn’t sure what would be expected of him in that role. However, he liked the sound of it, of being friends with the water tribe boy. 

“Yeah.” Zuko let himself smile just one last time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We may be social distancing right now, but human contact is important! A good hug is easy to take for granted, but it can be so healing.


	3. Sokka

Ba Sing Se University was always a place he dreamed of going. When Sokka was finally old enough to actually apply, he spent weeks drafting applications that expressed all the ideas he had and his perspective as someone from the southern water tribe. He knew the odds of him being accepted were practically zero, because while students from the Northern Water Tribe and Air Nations had attended the great university, there had never been anyone from his tribe that got in. However, the reason likely wasn’t anything to do with how much potential younger people in his tribe may have had, but mostly because there hardly were any people left in his tribe at all. The war hit them hard, and the few that survived had to work to rebuild a somewhat stable settlement. Sokka wanted to help more than anything. He wanted to help the Southern Water Tribe to become what it once was, and more.

Though they were a largely isolated settlement from the rest of the world, news still made its way to them through the trades they conducted with towns along the southern border of the Earth Kingdom. Sokka heard tales of machinery developed in the Earth Kingdom that was allowing them to make massive strides in construction, travel and well basically everything. The tribe seemed at a stalemate where it was, Sokka figured the only way to build up from where they were is if they could get in on the revolutionary new technologies. Perhaps if Sokka could attend school in Ba Sing Se, he could learn about how those things worked and possibly bring that knowledge back to the tribe. So it wasn’t completely selfish to indulge the idea of going to his dream school.

When Sokka received a fancy looking missive with a signature Earth Kingdom green ribbon and fancy gold seal, he was over the moon. He got in! The first person from the Southern Water Tribe to ever get accepted. Though it took many weeks of internal debate, as well as verbal debate with his family, for him to actually decide to follow through with it. He’d never been away from the tribe aside from a couple short trading excursions. Though he wouldn’t admit it aloud, he was afraid to face the world out there alone. He felt he was capable, sure, he took care of his sister and gran gran for most of his life, he knew how to hunt, and he’d trained with warriors in his tribe, he felt confident he could take care of himself. But still, there were a lot of unknowns he’d have to face moving to a foreign land all by himself.

His journey there had been one of the hardest things to deal with in his life. He spent weeks on the ocean alone on a small boat, splitting his thoughts between all the exciting things he may find, all the dangers he may face and how his family would be without him. On one hand, the prospect of exploring new places and seeing things he’d never thought he’d be able to witness with his own eyes was beyond thrilling. Yet, on the other, there could be crazy beasts he wouldn’t know how to slay, or he could get lost. Then there was also the idea that his family may not be able to go on without him. He knew that was irrational to think, they were all very capable, and his little sister wasn’t so little anymore. Besides, his dad was back, he could look after them better than Sokka ever could.

When he finally made it to the Earth Kingdom’s shores, he quickly found that people may not have been as happy to see him as he was to finally see other people again. Just as he heard things about the Earth Kingdom, it seems that they heard things about the Southern Water Tribe, and apparently not a lot of good things. While it certainly wasn’t everyone, he found that there were a fair amount of people who treated him differently. Some people refused to interact with him at all, others looked down on him either acting like he was an idiot that may not even understand the words they spoke, or acting like he was some sort of dangerous creature. It was hard to get used to the way people acted towards him in those various towns he passed through on his way to the capital, he almost decided to turn around and go back home, but he had to remind himself of why he was doing this in the first place and held out hope that the capital would be different. 

He didn’t have a particularly large sum of money to his name, and while he learned that the school was so eager to have him attend that they were offering him full paid board, stretching what he had until he made it there was a challenge. He spent several nights sleeping outside, often needing to procure his own food. While he thought himself an experienced huntsman, the game in the Earth Kingdom was far different than that of the South Pole, and he learned that he hadn't the slightest clue how to find or let alone catch anything. He could at least fish, thankfully the fish here weren’t as annoyingly crafty as the other animals. But there wasn’t always a place to fish, as such there were several days he spent traveling in weather far hotter than he’d ever felt back home with nothing to eat or drink.

When he finally made it to the gates, the guards seemed wary to allow him to enter. The rough nights leading up to his arrival likely left him looking (and smelling) like the uncivilized person they assumed he was. Thankfully, he was able to keep his acceptance letter in nearly pristine condition despite the state the rest of him was in. Upon entering the city he was rendered speechless. The place was massive, like a million times bigger than anything he’d ever seen. He had absolutely no clue where to go, there were buildings everywhere, all sorts of them, massive stone ones that towered over the streets all the way down to tiny wooden houses comparable in size to his igloo back home. Not to mention the people. There were so many people. Too many people in fact. They crowded the streets in some places so densely he couldn’t even see the stone pavement they were walking on.

After a lot of asking around, he eventually found his way to the University campus. The campus was also massive, essentially yet another city inside the city, it was mind boggling how they managed to build such massive structures. It took what felt like an eternity of twists and turns before he finally found the building mentioned in his letter. The ornate white stone building with its gaudy gold Earth Kingdom decals made him feel even more out of place than he already did. As he entered the building, he could immediately feel eyes on him, judging him for his far from presentable appearance. When he greeted the lady behind the desk at the front of the building, she immediately assumed he had lost his way, offering to direct him to another place. When he showed his letter to her, to say she was surprised would’ve been an understatement. It seemed to worry her more that this was indeed the place he intended to find. She tried her best to seem amicable as she told him to wait for her to alert the counselor he was supposed to meet with. 

When he finally was called back, after waiting very uncomfortably in a building that was clearly far too fancy for him, he was greeted coldly by a very stone faced older man. The man was hard to read, but Sokka could only assume he was likely regretting the fact they accepted him into the school, as he was sure to thoroughly explain the high expectations they had of him there and the harsh consequences he would face should he fail to keep up. The talk was certainly stressful, they discussed the grades he was expected to maintain in order to justify continuing to offer him full paid tuition and housing and it was a lot to take in.

Having heard at least a thousand times that he was basically expected to be some sort of perfect student to stay here, the meeting finally came to an end. Someone was sent to guide Sokka to the home he was being provided on the campus. The guide was not a chatty type, yet Sokka still found himself babbling his nerves away regardless of how interested they were in his words. The guide put a decisive end to his prattle when they arrived in front of what was supposedly Sokka’s new home. She was quick to excuse herself, though not before not-so-subtly hinting he cleaned himself up. 

The house was said to be small, but compared to what Sokka was used to it was massive. There were multiple rooms, of particular interest was one with some comfortable looking green-cushioned chairs and benches which seemed like a fantastic place to relax (and it was). But perhaps the most impressive part was the restroom. He’d never seen something like it, they had pipes that spouted water and all he had to do was turn a knob. There was one on a counter with a bowl under it, and another that came out of the wall in the back of the room. In the tribe, the fresh water came from melting ice, they had plenty of ice so there was no shortage of water, but it was inconvenient to say the least. He wasn’t expecting it to be so easy to get water in his house here, but he was very grateful that it was one less thing to worry about.

His first week in the city was filled with equal parts wonder and confusion. He stumbled across so many seemingly “normal” things to citizens here that astounded him. He also found himself getting lost pretty much every time he stepped out of his house. Though he made numerous excursions exploring the streets he failed to make any significant progress in mentally mapping the place. Once he came across the grand library on campus, however, he didn’t care to search too much more. That place was beyond fascinating. There were seemingly endless shelves of scrolls and books lining the walls and filling the room. Everywhere he turned there was a new title that caught his eye, he knew that he'd be spending more time here than his house.

Once the day came for classes to actually begin Sokka found himself largely unprepared for them. It crept up way quicker than he thought it would, and though he planned to be prepared and spend time making sure he knew where he needed to go for all his classes, he forgot to. So that first morning caused him a lot of panic when he woke up late realizing he actually had somewhere he was expected to be. He rushed to get himself presentable for the day before stumbling out the door and into the maze of paths.

It took asking several people for directions at every turn he could where this Professor Chang’s class was before he finally found someone who was polite enough to spend time and give him clear steps on how to get there. After that it was off to the races, until he crashed into someone turning a corner. That guy turned out to be Lee. Sokka wasn’t sure about him at first. He didn’t seem particularly friendly, but there was something about him that seemed… nice? 

Sure the first day they met, he did most of the talking. He had a habit for taking over conversations that he knew was probably something he needed to work on, but Lee didn’t seem to mind. It wasn’t like the guide he babbled at earlier though, because Lee seemed to actually listen to him. He was interested in what he was saying, which is more than he could say for anyone else he’d try to speak to. But perhaps the biggest thing was that Lee didn’t seem to judge him at all, even when he revealed where he was from Lee showed nothing but a genuine curiosity. He didn’t talk down to him in the slightest, and for the first time since he arrived in the Earth Kingdom he felt like it was okay to be himself.

When Lee snapped in front of him, Sokka didn’t know what to do. Though he sounded angry, there was a sadness in his eyes that he couldn’t ignore. It wasn’t even a conscious choice when he hugged him, he just sort of did it. He freaked out, knowing that he overstepped his bounds hugging someone who had just yelled at him, he wasn’t even sure what to say about it. However, to his surprise, he didn’t have to say anything, because Lee hugged him too. He could feel the other boy’s tears soaking into his shirt and all he wanted to do was hold him closer to comfort him. Truthfully, as much as he wanted to help Lee he was also comforting himself, because he needed that warm reassuring contact too. He was glad to finally have someone here in this grossly overpopulated city to call his friend. 

—————————————————————————————————-

It had been two weeks since he started school, and things were going better than Sokka had expected. Sure, the work was a little scary but at least it was (almost) all fascinating. As much as he fidgeted or joked around in lectures (mostly in professor Chang’s class) he was listening to every word they said. After all, you can’t make a good joke about something you don't understand, that's comedy 101. He felt he was actually learning a lot, and he was loving it. 

Surprisingly he was enjoying more than just the classes. Sokka had grown pretty close to Lee in the short time they’d known each other. Sure it took a lot of work on Sokka’s side, always initiating conversation and planning excursions, but he didn’t mind. He knew Lee was fairly awkward when it came to socializing, and Sokka never had a shortage of words. Something about their friendship just… worked. 

He had just finished up his work for the day, closing the heavy textbook and tossing it onto the floor beside the couch. Sokka prided himself on being good at a lot of things, but cleanliness was not one of them. He loved to be organized, for sure, but contrary to most people's beliefs cleanliness and organization are not the same thing. The house may be a mess, but there was a method to the madness. The Government textbook was always read on the couch, any extra readings for the class were read on the chair next to the couch, as such they rested on the floor around it. The history books were always read at the dinner table, as such they were stacked there. Arithmetics were on the counter, Engineering was on his bed, and Biology was at the desk. Art was, naturally, everywhere because that’s just how art is.

Whenever Sokka ran out of work to do, he was instantly bored. He knew that it's irrational to assume he could be entertained all the time, but boy did he hate being bored. In an effort to not die of boredom, he elected to brave the streets of Ba Sing Se and find something to do. The streets were always terribly crowded in the early evening, no matter what day it was. Sokka figured there had to be some interesting stuff going on if so many people were always out there. As expected there was a fair amount of activity. There were street performers doing all sorts of things, from playing instruments, to showing off dancing animals, to reciting one man plays. There were also lots of food stalls. Lots and lots of food stalls. An overwhelming amount of food stalls. It smelled amazing, and Sokka wanted to eat practically all of it.

After wandering for a while, he veered off from the well illuminated bustling main streets off to a more quiet, yet still busy street by its own standards. There he came across The Jasmine Dragon, the name of which he recognized from Lee. This was the tea shop Lee’s uncle owned. Curious, Sokka peered through the window into the small, but very comfortable looking tea shop. He saw all sorts of people inside, enjoying calm conversations with each other, and many of them playing what seemed to be some sort of game at their tables. Sokka also saw his friend, who was holding a tray of tea cups, passing them to a large group of older people seated around a table, forcing a smile on his face as he served them. He couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of Lee’s uncomfortable smile. He took a long moment contemplating whether or not it would be intrusive for him to barge into the shop, knowing full well that he had exactly zero interest in buying a cup of tea, while his friend was working. He decided that he was bored, and it looked like there were a lot of customers in there for Lee to serve them all and keep it clean all on his own so maybe he could help out. Its not like he had anything better to do.

When he entered the door a bell sounded, which Lee seemed to react to instinctively by making his way behind the counter in the back of the shop. Sokka approached the counter, expecting Lee to look up, but he didn’t, so he spoke up  
“I'll have a hot cup of your… uh… leafiest tea please” Sokka used his favorite old man impression  
“Sorry sir, Leafiest? I’m not sure..” Lee raised his head, furrowing his brow in confusion “Sokka?”  
“Yep, here to save the day! Need some help here buddy?” Sokka offered, walking behind the counter where he saw another apron laying on a stool  
“Uh, no, I… you don't work here. Hey what are you doing?” Lee looked flustered as Sokka slid the apron over his head  
“Relax mr Hotman, I’m just helping out, there’s a lot of people here” he gestured out to the crowded room “that’s a lot of people to keep happy all by your grumpy self” he poked his finger against the center of his friends chest.   
“I dont- this isn’t- why- ugh…” Lee was obviously struggling to find words and Sokka couldn’t help but chuckle at the way he stumbled to find a response. A table was being freed up as a group stood to exit the shop, just as another similarly sized party entered.   
“Look, why don’t I greet these guys and get their orders while you clean up that table so they have somewhere to sit” Sokka instructed, gesturing towards the recently abandoned table now left with only empty cups and a few small puddles of what was likely (hopefully) spilled tea, Lee turned his gaze over to the table and Sokka stopped pointing in favor of offering a pat on his friends tense shoulder.  
“I… fine” Lee relented, letting out a sigh, as he slowly walked towards the table.  
The group of new customers made their way to the counter, and when they started making their requests, Sokka quickly realized he had literally no clue what he was doing. The men were quick to place their orders and he tried his best to sound confident and friendly, which seemed to work as the men thanked him before going off to sit at the table Lee was now rushing to prepare for them. He could remember the words, but he wasn’t sure what to do with them. He popped his head into the back room behind the counter, where he saw an older grey haired man preparing various pots of tea. He approached the man, hoping he was doing the right thing by relaying the information about the customers orders to him.  
“Um, hello there- uh, sir, there were a couple of gentlemen who were- uh, requesting some tea?” He wasn’t sure why it came out more like a question than the statement he intended it to be, but he was too busy cursing himself internally for jumping headfirst into something he had no business doing to care about that detail. The old man looked up offering Sokka an inquisitive brow as he quickly scanned his appearance  
“I should hope my customers would be requesting tea” the older man let out a hearty guffaw and Sokka could feel the red in his cheeks realizing how stupid he sounded.  
“Did they perhaps make more specific requests?” The older man asked softly, seemingly unphased by the fact that a stranger was acting like he suddenly worked here.  
“Yes. Uh, one was an Oolong, and another said a s-spicy Jasmine, and the last one was a uh, fruit blend.” Sokka recalled, still feeling flustered, though he was confident that was the order.   
“That is information we can work with.” The old man walked to retrieve some cups from the counter behind him, turning back towards the multitude of boiling pots of tea once he had them. “Though it seems you work at my tea shop, I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting you. My name is Mushi.” The man offered a polite smile as he filled the cups with tea from the pots in front of him.   
“Oh- uh, I’m S-Sokka. Pleasure to meet you sir” he bowed, not sure if that was the right thing to do or not in this situation. “I know I don’t work here or anything, I just, well Lee is…” but he (thankfully) didn’t have a chance to complete his sentence, as Lee entered the small, very fragrant, room.   
“Sokka! you said you’d take care of them! The customers are waiting! Is that their order?” Lee snapped, definitely stressed. He stomped over to where the old man had placed the three cups on a tray picking it up surprisingly carefully considering his apparent mood. He exited the room after retrieving the tray without saying another word.  
“So you’re a friend of my nephew’s then.” The old man replied, gaze lingering on the now empty doorway after Lee’s quick entrance and equally speedy exit.   
“Yep. I was just walking by, but I remember he said he worked here, and I saw the place was packed and he looked like he was stressed, so I wanted to offer my help!” Sokka replied, walking towards the small window that looked into the main body of the shop. He could see Lee carefully setting the cups of tea in front of the men who ordered them. He turned around, quickly remembering he was talking to the owner of the tea shop “I-if that's okay with you, s-sir. I don't mean to intrude” Sokka bowed again, still unsure how to act around who he now realized was Lee’s uncle. The old man just let out another loud laugh, and Sokka kept his head bent towards the ground, face burning with embarrassment.   
“It takes a kind heart to care about others' burden's young man. I appreciate your willingness to help my nephew.” The old man offered a reassuring pat on Sokka’s back as he stood up, raising his hand to rub the back of his neck. “My nephew is not always keen on accepting help, especially when he needs it most. Though he may have a bad temper, I’m certain he appreciates your effort.” The old man joined Sokka as they looked out to see Lee wiping down a newly abandoned table.   
“He is a bit of a hot head” Sokka felt a smile smile tug at the corners of his lips “but I know he doesn’t mean anything by it.” He continued watching Lee, as he suddenly knocked a tea cup off the table he was cleaning sending it crashing to the floor. Sokka winced at the sound. He could see Lee taking a very deep breath, likely trying not to shout if his past experiences with him were anything to go by. “Speaking of, looks like he needs me” Sokka quickly made his way to the door, realizing just as he was stepping through that he was forgetting something. He turned back towards Lee’s uncle, bowing again “Sir”   
“Please, call me Mushi” the old man replied in his calm mellow tone  
“Y-yes sir, uh- Mushi...sir” Sokka continued his bow for a few seconds before rushing through the opening into the other room.

He picked up a broom he saw behind the counter before making his way to Lee’s side, sweeping the shards of glass into a small pile. Lee seemed to release some of his very obvious tension when he noticed that Sokka was cleaning the mess.

For the rest of the night they worked together, exchanging only a few words as they were both focused on their tasks. They took turns, one taking orders and serving customers while the other cleaned up the tables as they opened up. Sokka was glad to see that Lee looked significantly less stressed than he did when he saw him through the window. It seemed that his rash choice to come in and force himself into this was the right one. 

Before long, it was time to close up shop. As Lee’s uncle (- er Mushi) went to lock the door, Lee approached Sokka.  
“Thanks” Lee’s head was turned down as said it, his tone was almost entirely flat but Sokka could tell he really was grateful  
“Of course, that’s what I’m here for! Someone’s gotta make sure you don't end up blowing your head up over some needy customers” he lightly punched his stiff friend’s bicep  
“I’ve never yelled at a customer!” Lee shot up defensively   
“Could’ve fooled me.” Sokka shrugged “there were a couple times I was sure you were gonna let someone have it!” He couldn’t help but chuckle a little at the thought of his friend lashing out at one of the unsuspecting old people ordering tea. Lee just groaned and rolled his eyes.


	4. Zuko (Lee)

Zuko still wasn’t used to the idea of having a friend. It had been about a month since he met the water tribe boy, and his presence in Zuko’s life had grown significantly larger than he ever anticipated. For the longest time, Zuko had no one to interact with, before being reunited with his uncle at least. Even then, though he appreciated his uncle’s company immensely, it was nothing like spending time with Sokka.

Sokka was surprisingly easy to talk to. He was an exceptionally skilled conversationalist, which, mostly, made up for Zuko’s less than stellar social skills. Sokka did like to joke- a lot, and most weren’t funny- at all. However, they were part of his unique character, and Zuko felt he probably wasn’t a fair critic considering he didn’t have a knack for humor. Though they did spend a lot of time talking about basically nothing, the ability to just have mindless banter with someone was something Zuko found very nice. When he was with Sokka he didn’t have to think about all the horrible thoughts that would swelter when he was left alone. When he did have those thoughts, sometimes, rarely, he might mention them a little bit to Sokka. Never the most horrible ones, never about his father, or his failures, or any of the many other long-term traumas he tried to repress. But maybe if he was just a little stressed, or a little anxious about an assignment or something small he’d open up to Sokka about it. He always seemed willing to help Zuko through it anyway he could. Though he didn’t understand how Sokka could care about him and his stupid problems, it meant a lot to him that he did. 

“So how does Pai Sho work?” Sokka asked as he approached Zuko, helping him pick up the tea cups left on the table. Sokka had been coming to the tea shop a lot, anytime he came during business hours he insisted on assisting. Whether that be cleaning tables, dishes, floors or serving customers, he basically worked there. However, anytime Zuko’s uncle offered to compensate him for his work he adamantly refused to accept any pay.  
“I don’t know? That’s an old people game.” Zuko replied, wiping the table in front of him clean with a cloth “My uncle loves it, ask him. He’d gladly explain it, but make sure you’ve got a few hours of spare time.” Sokka just laughed in response, carefully carrying the stacked teacups as he traveled back to the kitchen. When he emerged from the kitchen he plopped down on the stool next to Zuko behind the counter, immediately starting to fiddle with some incense sticks that were laying there. It was nice having him there, even if his presence was distracting at times, he made the work a lot less dull. 

The rush at the shop was dying down as they hit an afternoon lull, not many new customers entered, and most seated customers were very invested in their Pai Sho games, rarely ordering another cup. Zuko’s Uncle relieved the boys of their duties, insisting they take a break outside. Zuko reluctantly obliged, realizing that there really wasn’t much work to do, and his uncle could more than manage on his own. Sokka led the way as they exited out onto the street.

“Let’s go find something to eat, I’m starving!” Sokka shook Zuko’s arm demanding his attention.   
“You’re always hungry.” Zuko replied, unmoving as he continued to lean on the exterior wall of the tea shop  
“I said I’m starving! Not hungry! This is the real deal!” Sokka continued with his theatrics “If I don't eat soon, I’ll collapse!... or die!” He was shaking Zuko’s arm even more aggressively.  
“Fine.” Zuko sighed as he relented, allowing Sokka to pull him from the wall and into the street. Sokka let out a cheer as they set off.

They wandered a few streets looking for an appetizing food stall. As much as Sokka was supposedly starving, it wasn’t enough for him to settle for anything less than a significant portion of some kind of meat. Sokka was a “meat guy” as he himself put it, Zuko thought, when he first mentioned it, that meant he just liked to eat meat, but he soon found that Sokka seemed to require it just as much as any other essential like air or water. Zuko on the other hand could care less about what he ate. Sustenance was sustenance, he never thought much on whether he enjoyed it or not. He didn’t mind at all letting Sokka pick whatever he wanted.

After a while they came across a stall serving skewers that seemed to pique Sokka’s interest. Zuko almost smiled at his friend's excitement to have found something to eat. It was fascinating that something so simple elicited such exaggerated reactions from him. Sokka bought several skewers for them to share, his blue eyes alight as he eyed the food hungrily. They settled into a table near the stall, off to the side of the street, Sokka started digging in the second he sat down.

“This is fantastic!” Sokka practically shouted through his overstuffed mouth. Zuko took small bites, nodding in agreement with his friend, knowing he didn’t need to actually respond because Sokka was far too distracted trying to fit as much as he could in his mouth at once. The blue boy's eyes nearly rolled back into his head as he continued to chew. Zuko had to look away to keep himself from laughing at the sight. He wasn’t used to fighting laughter so often, but something about Sokka’s strange ways threatened to elicit those embarrassing sounds far more frequently than he’d like.  
“How are you eating so slowly, we are eating the same thing aren’t we?” Sokka’s mouth was surprisingly empty when he spoke, picking up a new skewer pointing it at Zuko.  
“It is good.” Zuko agreed, unsure what else his to say  
“Do you ever get excited?” He couldn’t tell if his friend’s question was meant to be a joke or if he was actually asking. Honestly, he wasn’t sure how to answer either way, because sure, there were things he enjoyed, but he couldn’t think of anything that got him excited. Not since he was very young anyways.   
“It’s definitely not food for you, but there’s gotta be something!” Sokka flung the skewer he was pointing at Zuko behind his head, the speed caused a piece of meat to fly off the stick. Zuko kept his eyes locked on to the food as it soared through the air before landing on the back of a man’s head. As soon as it made contact the man shot up from his seat, looking around behind him before fixing his gaze on Sokka. 

“Hey, Savage” the brown haired man threw the meat back at Sokka, hitting him on the forehead. Sokka just stared back at the man, his eyes growing wide with fear. Zuko clenched his jaw. “Learn some fucking table manners!” The guy was standing up now, fuming at Sokka. A girl who was sitting in the seat across from him reached up to touch his forearm  
“Jet please” the girl pleaded at the angry man  
“No. We can’t let these backwater freaks fuck up our city by acting like animals” the man, Jet, continued glaring at Sokka as he spat in his direction. Zuko couldn't hold back his rage at the man's comment, jolting out of his seat before he even realized what his body was doing.  
“Watch your tongue.” He shouted through clenched teeth, squeezing his fists so tight his knuckles were turning white. Jet turned his head from Sokka, now directing his attention towards Zuko.   
“What’s that pretty boy? This savage here your little boyfriend or something?” The man stepped out from his table, taking a couple small steps closer to Zuko and Sokka’s table. Zuko started to get out from the table, but a hand around his wrist stopped him.   
“Lee, you don't need to…” Sokka looked up at Zuko, his words were a quiet whisper that was barely audible. Zuko looked into his blue eyes, he could see him pleading. Seeing his eyes only served to fuel Zuko’s anger even more. How could someone say such horrible things about Sokka? He didn’t deserve to be treated like that, and Zuko was certainly not going to let the man get away with what he said. 

Zuko shook his friends hand off his wrist as he walked towards Jet, who was now wearing a cocky smile. Zuko grabbed the slightly taller man by the collar and pulled him closer. “You’re right. There are savages fucking up this city. Savages like you.” Zuko spat the words in the man's face, his voice seething with malice. He released the man's collar, pushing him backward. 

“Alright Scarface, that's it!” The man swung a hard punch at Zuko’s face with his left arm. Zuko, fully expecting it, quickly raised his arm using his forearm to divert the man's fist towards the ground, sending the man stumbling past Zuko. Jet huffed in anger before launching another forceful punch. Zuko just slid out of the way, using the opportunity to take the offensive. As the man missed his hit, his body turned towards Zuko, he noticed the opening and jabbed his palm directly into Jet’s rib cage. The force sent the man falling flat on his back against the stone pavement, the impact causing him to let out a loud yelp. The girl sprung out of her seat, rushing to the man as he clutched his ribs. Zuko felt satisfied that the man wouldn’t be getting up, so he turned to walk back towards his friend. He wasn’t able to make it there before saw the boy’s blue eyes widen as he heard Sokka’s voice cry out   
“Watch out!”   
He turned just as a fist collided with his face. As he reeled from the impact he could taste the metallic liquid gush from his lip, sending him over the end. He used his leg to sweep the man off his feet, sending his knees crashing to the ground with a thud. Zuko executed a swift knife hand strike to the area between the man’s shoulder and neck, knowing that the area was vulnerable. In a final act to assert his victory, Zuko raised his boot to the man’s chest before kicking him to the ground. His smirk had twisted into an expression of terror as he looked up a Zuko from where he laid on the ground. For a moment, as he gazed down seeing the man now cowering below him he could see his own face looking back at him.

He couldn’t stand the feeling. He was ashamed that he’d done that to another person. He couldn’t face Sokka after what he’d done. Zuko turned and walked down the street, he didn’t look back as he heard the girl shouting at him, but he heard the name she called him very clearly. “Monster”.

As soon as he turned the corner he ran, he could feel the tears burning behind his eyes. He was a monster. He was just like his father. He beat a man into a trembling mess. The man was an asshole. He was spewing disgusting lies about his friend, but was that any excuse? He knew what he was doing, he aimed for hits that he knew would cause damage. He wanted to inflict pain. He was a monster. 

His legs worked on their own, carrying him back to the tea shop. He burst through the door, ignoring his uncle's calls as he dashed to his room slamming the door behind him. He collapsed in the dark silence, falling to his knees on the hardwood. He couldn't fight the tears that streamed from his eyes as he covered his face with his hands. Falling on his side as he curled into a ball on the floor. He was a monster. A disgusting monster. He was just like his father. 

After a while the tears dried up, and the shaking stopped. He just continued to lay there on the floor, staring forward unable to stop repeating the thoughts in his head, over and over. Suddenly light shined through the doorway, as someone entered his room. He couldn't move as he heard their footsteps slowly approaching him. He stayed still while hands pulled him up off the floor and arms wrapped around his shoulders. He kept staring as the person brought his head to their chest and lightly rested their chin in his hair. 

“I’m a monster” his voice came out shaky and strained.  
“You’re not a monster.” He could hear Sokka’s voice, soft but firm “you’re a hero, standing up against an asshole like him” he could feel Sokka’s hand fall from his shoulder as he started making a soft swirling motion against his back. His touch was soft and warm, his words were reassuring. Zuko wanted to believe his friend, to believe he didn’t do something horrible, but he just couldn't.   
“People like that guy, sometimes that's the only way to get through to them, because of you I’m sure he’ll think twice before saying shit like that to anyone ever again.” His hand was still warm against Zuko’s back as he continued to rub the calming swirls into it. Zuko fought the stiffness in his limbs to raise a hand up to touch Sokka’s wrist. He nuzzled deeper into the blue boy's chest, letting his eyes close as he focused on the steady movements of Sokka’s hand. He could feel the tension that had been stiffening his limbs start to ease up. He kept following Sokka’s steady breaths, letting himself relax. It felt so peaceful, like nothing else mattered.  
“Lee, you’re a good person, okay. You were defending me and I’m really grateful for that.” Zuko just listened, hearing the air fill Sokka’s lungs as he took in a big breath. “S-since I’ve been here, a lot of people have treated me li-like that. Like I’m not even a person. It’s hard to deal with. At first I’d get mad… but eventually i-it starts to feel like maybe they’re right... Maybe I am just-“ Zuko forced himself to push off of Sokka’s chest causing him to release his arms from Zuko and drop them to his sides. As much as he didn’t want to break the feeling he needed to look into his friends eyes. He placed both his hands on either of Sokka’s shoulders, making sure he kept eye contact.   
“Don’t ever believe that.” He tried his best to be reassuring to his friend like he had been for him. He couldn't read his friend's expression, panic started rising inside of him. “You- you’re…” he took a deep breath, struggling to find the words to convey what he was feeling. Suddenly, he recalled his mother’s words. “You should never be ashamed of who you are. Just because you’re different doesn’t make you less than them.” He felt a pang in his chest hearing his mother’s soothing voice in his head as he recited her words from all those years ago. The words he tried his best to hold on to even when the world was telling him otherwise. “I know it's hard to remember when all you hear is the opposite…and I know I’m not the best example of someone qualified to give that type of advice…” Zuko trailed off, regretting that he had been losing sight of that himself. He brought his gaze back to the boy in front of him, a small tear fell from his eye and streaked slowly down his cheek. “But it's true. Please...there’s nothing wrong with being yourself.” Sokka threw his arms around Zuko, pressing his head against his chest. Zuko’s eyes widened in surprise, after a few seconds he let himself ease up and wrap his own arms around his friends shoulders, just like he had done for him just moments ago.  
“Thank you” Sokka’s voice was barely more than a whisper as the words came out in a warm breath against Zuko’s body. He tightened his arms squeezing the blue boy closer in an attempt to comfort him. “There’s nothing wrong with being yourself either” 

Zuko knew it was hypocritical to say those words to his friend and not be able to accept them himself. He wanted to believe Sokka. He wanted to believe his mother. But neither of them knew the person he truly was. While he meant what he said, there was one exception. If ‘himself’ was anything like his father, there absolutely was something wrong with that.


	5. Sokka

Sokka couldn’t get the events of last night out of his mind. Lee was a pretty cool guy. Actually he was really cool. He could be tough and cold, and totally kick someone’s ass, but he was also so caring and warm. So warm.

“Sokka? Hello?” Suki snapped him out of his thoughts “you okay? You just zoned out on me.”   
“Yeah… Yeah. Sorry about that” Sokka rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed about being called out.

Other than Lee, Suki was the only other person he’d met in Ba Sing Se he considered a friend. She took Art with him, and ever since they were assigned to paint portraits of each other they hit it off. She was always fun to talk to. While he felt Lee and him were opposites in a lot of their outward actions and their friendship worked in more of a ‘two sides of the same coin’ sort of way, Suki and him were more like ‘the same side of two different but very similar coins’. They had the same sense of humor, and they both loved a good joke. Pretty much anytime Suki was around, he could expect that his stomach would be sore from laughter by the time they parted.

“So… what happened with that jerk?” Suki asked, reminding Sokka that he spaced out mid-story.   
“Oooh, yeah. Lee kicked his ass. Bad.” Sokka smiled, feeling truly grateful for his friend.   
“Just like that huh, none of your usual embellishments this time?” Suki pointed her brush at Sokka, a few drops of black paint dripping from the tip as she moved.   
“No. This was better than I could explain. You had to be there Suki.” Sokka was trying to focus back on the painting in front of him, giving it a good look from a few different angles before adding a couple strokes of paint.   
“Better than you could explain!?” Suki let out an over exaggerated gasp “well, well, really must’ve been something then!” Suki peered over at Sokka’s painting, he noticed her attention and raised an inquiring brow hoping to get her reaction to his hard work. She made an uncomfortable smile that Sokka could tell was not at all genuine. He frowned back at her.  
“When do I get to meet him?” Suki asked, to Sokka’s annoyance, electing to ignore commenting on his art.  
“What? Who?” Sokka asked, trying to figure out why Suki didn’t have anything nice to say about his work.  
“Lee. Duh. You talk about him all the time. When do I get to meet him?” Suki flicked a little paint off of her brush, splattering a few speckles onto Sokka’s face.   
“Uh, I don’t know…” Sokka wiped the paint off his face with his hand.   
“I get it. I’m not cool enough for you and your badass friends, I see how it is…” Suki rolled her eyes playfully at Sokka.   
“No! I mean, you can meet him whenever you want. Just come to the tea shop.” Sokka offered nonchalantly as he peeked over at Suki’s painting. It looked better than his. He let out an annoyed huff, going back to his piece wracking his brain for how to make it look more like hers.  
“Okay. You can take me there tomorrow then.” Suki replied, wiping her brush off with a cloth.   
“Alright, alright” Sokka shrugged “I’ve got nothing better to do I guess.” Sokka joked. Suki jabbed his arm, eliciting a little yelp from him.  
“Good, I’m looking forward to it!” Suki replied with a small smile “well, I’ve got to leave now if I’m going to get any training in before dinner.” She wrapped her brushes in a cloth and grabbed her painting. “Good luck with your- uh… art.” She teased, squinting her eyes at Sokka’s painting before bumping her elbow against the back of his head.  
“Hey! I worked hard on this!” He shouted after her as she walked away. Suki turned around to shrug at him one last time before she walked out of view.

Sokka inspected his work. It looked pretty good to him. Sure Suki’s may have looked more like the real tree in front of them, but Sokka’s looked more fun, which has to count for something. He started to pack up his painting and supplies as he let his mind wander back to Lee. He wasn’t sure why, but he was stuck on him. They were friends, so of course Sokka thought about him a lot. But his thoughts now were different from the normal, ‘I wanna hang out’ or ‘what would Lee say about this’, he couldn’t stop thinking about how warm he was. About how good it felt to be wrapped in his arms. About how he wouldn’t mind feeling like that again. But that was normal too… wasn’t it?

Sokka figured it was about time he headed to the Jasmine Dragon. It was pretty much a part of his daily routine now. It was great to have something to do to keep him busy so he never had to deal with being bored. He got to spend time with his friend and help out. It was an all around great situation. 

He made his way back to his house to drop off his art supplies, humming to himself as he strolled. Something about the day was just especially nice. Everything seemed just right. The temperature was a little on the cooler side thanks to a slight breeze in the air. The grass looked particularly green. The birds chirped cheerfully. Everything was just so… good.

Arriving at his house, he unloaded his stuff on the table before walking to the bathroom. He stopped to check out his reflection. He still had some marks on his face from the paint Suki flicked at him. He chuckled a little to himself, wetting a cloth to wipe his face with. He noticed his hair had a few strands escaping his wolf tail. He elected to redo it to make sure he looked put together. Once he was satisfied with his appearance he shot himself a little pose, winking as he turned out the door. 

The walk to the tea shop had Sokka feeling inexplicably nervous. It wasn’t like today was anything special, and he walked this same path all the time. The day was still perfectly comfortable outside, there weren’t even many people on the street. Yet he somehow still felt that little nervous feeling swirling around inside of him. No amount of questioning was getting him any closer to figuring out what had him feeling like that, so as he approached the door of the Jasmine Dragon, he decided to just chalk up the feeling to ‘weird body stuff’. That made just about as much sense as anything else.

Upon entering the shop, it was immediately apparent that it wasn’t open. Unlike the usual day, there were no games of Pai Sho or groups of women gossiping to each other, just an empty room. Sokka now wondered if he had some sort of supernatural sense and that nervous feeling meant something was wrong.   
“Hello?” He called out into the emptiness, growing more anxious as a few seconds passed without any reply.   
“Ah, Sokka, if you are looking for my nephew, I am afraid he is not here” Lee’s uncle, Mushi, sauntered out from the kitchen.  
“Oh, sorry for intruding sir!” Sokka still got nervous talking to Mushi, it wasn’t like he was intimidating per se, but he carried a sort of power with him that Sokka felt demanded respect. “M-may I ask where he is?” He bowed awkwardly   
“Please, as I’ve said, you do not owe me any formalities. Lee should be returning soon, he is just at the market right now.” The old man walked out into the room, propping the broom he was holding against the wall behind the counter. “It is about time for my tea break. Would you care to join me while we wait for my nephew?”  
“Yes sir- er Mushi. I would be honored.” Sokka replied, trying to keep in mind Mushi’s request for him to relax on the formal behaviors.

Mushi went to the kitchen and Sokka followed. The old man gestured for Sokka to grab some cups as he got the tea pot. They carried the materials to a table next to the counter. After setting down the cups Sokka took a seat, legs crossed, on the red cushion. Lee’s uncle poured the tea into each of their cups before settling across from Sokka.

“Thank you.” Sokka nodded towards Mushi, who nodded back  
“My pleasure” the old man took a long sip from his cup before continuing “I know I have thanked you before, but you have been a big help to us here, I just wish you would let me pay you for your work.”  
“No sir, it's really not necessary. Honestly. The school covers all my necessary expenses, I just want to help out and spend some time with my friend.” Sokka replied hoping to get across that he really enjoys being here and doesn’t need to be compensated for it.   
“Well, we appreciate your help. Though he may not say it in as many words, Lee certainly seems a lot happier having you here.” Mushi took another drink of his tea, closing his eyes as he did so.  
“R-really? Sometimes I can’t tell… I mean, I hope that Lee likes having me around, but I know I can be pushy, and probably annoying… He doesn’t smile much, o-or laugh at my jokes, I think of him as a good friend, I just- I don’t know if he sees me the same way.” Sokka bit his tongue a little too late, he wasn’t expecting to respond so openly. The nervous swirl he was feeling earlier was feeling significantly more intense now. He did wonder how Lee felt about him, he wasn’t nearly as expressive as Sokka was himself. He always harbored a small fear that his friend didn't enjoy being around him. But that's all it was just a little doubt. Lee never pushed Sokka away, or said anything about him being too much… but maybe he was just being nice because he knew Sokka didn't really have other friends here. But no, last night, what he did, the way they talked, that had to mean he did care- didn’t it? He spent several long seconds agonizing over the potential that maybe he was being too much, while Mushi took what felt like the longest sip of tea ever.  
“Of course. My Nephew… he has been through many difficult times in his life. He has grown a rather hard exterior. Sometimes he has difficulty expressing his emotions, so it can most certainly be a challenge to understand him. But I can assure you that you are important to him.” The old man offered a reassuring pat on Sokka’s hand, the look in his eyes was soft and genuine. He felt a little better hearing that Lee’s Uncle seemed to believe that Lee wasn’t annoyed by him. 

Sokka didn't get a chance to say anything more before the sound of the bell ringing as the door to the shop swung open stole his attention. Lee was there, carrying a large basket overflowing with food and supplies. He walked over to grab some of the items that were threatening to fall out of the basket, hoping to alleviate some of the load his friend was carrying. Lee jumped a little at Sokka’s sudden presence.   
“Sokka? What are you doing here?” His tone sounded a little harsh, Sokka started to panic, maybe he shouldn’t be here, maybe he was being too much.  
“Uh, I-I just… well I came here to help out, b-but the shop was closed and you weren’t here, so I was just having tea with your uncle, uh ya know while I was waiting for you, he said you were at-” Sokka’s rambling got cut off by Lee   
“I told you after class that we wouldn’t be open today. You didn't have to come here.” Sokka was kicking himself, he was being too much. He shouldn’t have come. He didn't remember hearing Lee tell him that, but his thoughts had been elsewhere in the morning. He should’ve listened, then he wouldn’t be here embarrassing himself and making his friend uncomfortable.  
“I-I’m sorry. I guess I wasn’t listening. I can leave now. I d-dont want to bother you.” Sokka rushed to set the items he’d grabbed on to a table, feeling his eyes burning as he held back tears. He didn't want to look up as he started to walk past Lee to exit the shop. He felt Lee grab his arm before he could get to the door, he continued looking down, not wanting to make eye contact. He saw a couple vegetables that had fallen from the basket with Lee’s sudden movement rolling on the wood floor between them.   
“I wasn’t- I didn’t mean it to sound like that.” Lee’s voice was a lot softer now “actually I- I’m happy to see you.” His friend paused, hand still gripping Sokka’s bicep “I want to talk to you, if you could stay.” Sokka just nodded in response. Lee brought the basket to the table Mushi was still seated at.  
“Thank you. I will handle putting these away” Sokka could hear the old man's reply, though he still didn't feel like he could look up without the tears falling from his eyes. He felt Lee lightly shake his shoulder.  
“Let’s go upstairs” he followed his friend as they walked up slowly to his room. Once inside Lee shut the door and walked over to his bed, taking a seat on the edge. Sokka just stood there, unsure what to do.   
“Hey, I’m sorry I was rude to you… I didn't mean to sound like that. I just- I have a hard time saying the right things a lot.” Lee’s voice lacked its usual bit of edge, he sounded so soft and sincere. Sokka pulled the front of his shirt up to wipe his eyes before finally looking up to see his friend, who was now looking down at the floor himself. He walked over to Lee, taking a seat next to him on the bed.  
“It's okay. I was in my head. I overreacted.” Sokka nudged his friend lightly   
“No. You’re always- you’re so nice to me. I just- I want to-I...ugh!” Lee fell back onto his bed “why can’t I just talk!”  
Sokka looked back at his friend, who was obviously very frustrated. He couldn't help but smile. All his previous irrational doubts were extinguished completely seeing Lee trying so hard to find the words to express himself. He laid back on the bed next to his friend. Sokka just looked up at the ceiling as Lee lay there rubbing his temples. A moment of silence passed before Lee spoke up.  
“I’ve never had a friend like you. I don’t deserve your friendship, but I appreciate it a lot. I want to get better at being a good friend to you.”   
“Lee, You are a good friend.” Sokka turned his head to look at his friend, the light from the window framed Lee’s face as he looked back at him. The sunlight reflecting on his eyes made the little gold flakes in his eyes stand out. Sokka had noticed them before, but the way they looked right then could only be described as… breathtaking. He had never seen eyes like Lee’s, the amber color with those beautiful gold flakes, he couldn't help but silently stare into them. After a few seconds Lee turned his head sharply, looking back up to the ceiling. Sokka felt guilty for staring, realizing he made Lee uncomfortable.   
“I-I don’t like when people stare at it” Lee said, his voice a little shaky.  
At first, Sokka wasn’t sure what he was talking about. It took several seconds of uncomfortable silence for Sokka to realize what his friend meant. Though he never outwardly expressed it, Lee seemed to be very self-conscious of the scar around his left eye.  
“Oh, I- sorry, I wasn’t…” Sokka couldn't decide if it was a good idea to admit what he was really staring at. It might be a little strange, to think his friends' eyes were pretty. He decided to instead change the subject. 

“When I was young, about eight, it was during the war…” Sokka took a deep breath. “I was playing with my little sister, just tossing around snowballs and such, but all the sudden we noticed the snow falling from the sky wasn’t right. Instead of the normal white snow, it was black. We didn't know what that meant, we just knew it wasn’t right. My sister, she got scared, she ran off to find our mom. I ran after her at first, but I decided I should probably find my dad. When I made it back to the village, I saw my sister running off towards our house, I went out to try and get to the shore, where my dad usually was during the day…” he closed his eyes, picturing that day painfully clearly “most days the warriors were training, or preparing for a hunt, maybe a ship was being readied for a trading expedition or something. But that day was different. There were huge metal ships crashed against the icy shore and hundreds of men in black and red armor. I’d never seen anyone come to our village, even the people we traded with never came to us. All our warriors had their weapons drawn, but for a while they just stood there staring each other down. I think they were probably talking, but I couldn’t hear them. It wasn’t long before they started to fight. I didn’t know what to do, I just watched terrified by all of it... There were so many people falling in the snow. All I could do was hope that my dad wasn’t one of them.”  
Sokka could hear his friends breathing beside him, it had grown increasingly louder as he told the story.  
“After a while, I couldn’t take it anymore. I just ducked down behind a snowdrift and covered my ears to try and block out as much of the horrible sound as I could. I don’t know how long I was there. Eventually my sister found me, she was crying saying she was worried about mom. She said some strange man was at our house and that mom told her to find me. I was scared, but I couldn’t let my sister see that. I had to be brave for her, so I stood up and walked with her back towards the house. The place didn’t look the same. Everywhere we looked there was fire. Black smoke filled the sky and most of the buildings in our village were either up in flames or already burned to a husk. We rushed to our home, I was just hoping so badly that it was alright, that mom and dad were alright. B-but everything was- everything wasn’t alright.” It always hurt to remember that day, Sokka could feel the horrible pain of loss all over again as a few tears fell from his eyes. “Mom was- she was gone. Just like most of the village.” Sokka wiped his eyes, waiting for the brunt of the emotions to pass before he could finish. “Nothing has been the same since then. My dad was gone for years looking to help In the war, to get revenge on the people who took mom away from us. Me and my sister were left with just our gran gran in a torn up village. Very few people were left, and even fewer still were able bodied enough to help get the village back on its feet. But we managed somehow to survive. Without either of our parents there, it was so easy to feel lost. My sister would get especially distraught, sometimes she’d be up all night crying. I tried my best to be there for her. Whenever we’d get upset, our mom would always hold us close. She’d rub her hand on our back, in a little circle. It was always so calming… I wanted to help my sister like that. It was never the same for either of us, but I think it helped a little.” Sokka certainly did not plan to share that story when he came to the shop, but it was relieving to let his friend in on his past. Lee sat up quickly from where he was laying back on the bed, Sokka followed suit. Lee’s hands were covering his face as Sokka leaned over to his friend and he could hear his muffled sniffling. 

“I’m sorry!” Lee’s shoulders started to shake as he blurted out, the words still quieted by his hands “I’m so sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” His shaking was getting worse and Sokka could see the tears dripping down from his hands. Sokka put his arm around Lee’s shoulder, holding him tight to try and calm his shaking.   
“Hey. What do you have to be sorry for?” He made sure to keep his voice low and soft, he didn’t want to make his friend feel so bad. He wasn’t expecting him to respond like this. He didn’t understand why his friend was more distraught that he was.   
“I-I’m sorry. I’m s-so so s-sorry!” Lee was still shaking hard   
“It’s not your fault. You don’t have anything to be sorry for.” Sokka moved his hand down from Lee’s shoulders onto his back. He started to rub a small circle into his back, just like his mom had done. “I didn’t mean to make you upset. I just- I wanted to tell you about it. Because, I trust you and I-I’ve never really told anyone about it before.” Sokka continued his attempt to comfort his friend, staying silent as he felt Lee’s shaking slow down and his breathing returning to a steady pace. It took a few minutes, but eventually Lee calmed down and Sokka let his hand fall back to his side. 

“She would be proud of you.” Lee’s voice was now more firm, but still quiet. “I know she would. You’ve stayed strong. You’ve helped your sister and others through the hard times. My mother...sh-she would’ve been proud if I was anything like you…”  
”Your mother, is- did she… did the fire nation attack your home too?” Sokka thought about what Mushi had said, about Lee having a hard life, and about the scar he was so ashamed of. He had assumed his friend had gone through something similar to himself, and hoped that he felt comfortable enough sharing his story too. Lee just stared off silently and Sokka felt guilty for prying.   
“I-I’m sorry, you don’t have to tell me anything. I just, well, sometimes it helps to let it out- or at least I think so… It felt good to be able to tell you about my- I’m just, I’m here, like I said- anytime you want to, i-if you ever do.”   
“I’ve spent so long trying to keep those thoughts, and-and those memories away… I’m not- I’m not strong enough to face them. I’m weak. I’m so fucking weak and I don’t know how to deal with them… instead I just- I feel so bad- so angry or-or sad… I dont even know!” Lee took several deep breaths “I don’t know what I’m feeling most of the time- I just know it doesn’t feel good… but I know that when I’m with you it feels better. I believe you when you say it could help to talk to you, b-but I’m not ready yet. I’m sorry.”  
“That’s okay, I know it’s hard, but I’ll be here to help you however I can. I promise. But Lee.. you are not weak. I don't like hearing you talk down about yourself because it's not true. Just last night, you were strong enough to stand up for me, your strength and conviction are what helped me see that I’m more than just the things other people call me. I don't see you as weak at all. Please, don’t sell yourself so short.” Sokka put his hand on his friend’s shoulder, shaking him lightly to get him to meet his gaze. “For what it's worth, I’m sure your mother would be proud of you too.” Sokka smiled at Lee, the sun had long since disappeared from the sky leaving the room only barely illuminated in the pale moonlight but it was enough for him to make out his friend’s weak half smile.  
“Sokka… thank you.” Sokka’s stomach decided to speak up and ruin the quiet moment with an embarrassingly loud grumble. Lee laughed at the sound, not just a little one that was hardly more than a hitched breath, but really laughed. Sokka didn't get to hear his friend laugh very often, but he decided he wouldn’t mind hearing it more.  
“My uncle probably made something we could eat, sounds like you need it” Lee stood up, walking to open the door and Sokka followed close behind.


	6. Zuko (Lee)

Zuko found himself unable to sleep. After Sokka had left, his mind went right back to the story his friend had told him. He felt so guilty. The Fire Nation, his people… his father, they did such horrible things to good people, people like Sokka. He came from monsters, and didn't that make him one too? He felt sick. He didn't deserve Sokka’s kindness, if he knew who he really was he would hate him and he’d have every right to. Zuko hated that he was deceiving Sokka into thinking he was a good person, he was a prince of the Fire Nation, a born monster. 

The heat was getting unbearable. Zuko sprung from his bed, rushing to the bathroom to splash cold water on his face. It wasn’t enough. He began frantically splashing water everywhere until he was soaked. He crumpled onto the floor, his clothes heavy with the water and his hair dripping constant droplets on his nose. When he closed his eyes, he could hear his friends' words echoing in his head ‘you are a good person’. It felt good letting himself believe that. But it wasn’t true. Sokka never would’ve said that if Zuko was honest about his identity. He didn’t deserve this second chance. This peaceful life. But he wanted it so bad. For the first time since his mother disappeared, he felt safe and even happy. Going to school, working at the tea shop, having a friend, being… normal. It felt so much better than all those years being tormented and abused by his father and sister. Better than struggling on the streets alone, stealing from people just to get by. It was selfish of him, but he didn't want to give it up. He wished more than anything he could erase his past and just be Lee. What good did being Zuko ever bring him? No one wanted Zuko. Zuko was a weak prince that could never compare to his sister, he was nothing but a disappointment to his father. Zuko was a monster to everyone outside of the Fire Nation, to all the people who saw him as a representation of the evil his homeland had embodied. Zuko was worthless to the world, stuck in between being too much of a villain for the outside to accept him, and being not enough of one for his family and his nation to accept him. But Lee, he was just a regular guy. People could accept him, people could even be friends with him. But no matter how badly he wanted it, he could never just be Lee. He could never escape the shame and guilt of being Zuko.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been sitting against the bathroom wall, by the time he heard a knock at his door he realized the sun was now shining through the small window. He had mostly dried, his hair and clothes were now only damp rather than drenched. He pulled himself up from the floor and out of the bathroom just in time to see his uncle entering his room.   
“Zuko, it will be time to open soon are- is everything okay?” Zuko noticed his uncle's expression fall when he laid eyes on him. He must’ve looked worse than he thought he did.  
“Uncle, I can’t keep doing this- living like this… I’m not- I don’t deserve this life!” Zuko couldn't contain his thoughts any longer, they were so loud in his head that he couldn’t hold them back. “I’m lying to everyone! I’m not someone people can trust, I’m not- I just…” his uncle approached him slowly, pulling into a hug. Zuko couldn’t release the tension in his body as he stood there with his fists still clenched tight at his side. “The Fire Nation, a-and father, they hurt so many of these people, good, innocent people like-like Sokka… I shouldn’t be here living amongst them. I’m their enemy. No one here would accept me if they knew who I was. It's not fair to deceive them!” His uncle released him after a short while stepping back to look him in the eyes.  
“You are not your father. He does not define you. Being prince of the Fire Nation is a title you were born with, yet that is not all that you are. The person you are here, the one that I see before me, my kind nephew who helps his old uncle run a tea shop, a young man who cares deeply about those around him- those are the things that show who you really are. There is so much good in you, Zuko. But you must let go of the burdens of your past and let yourself live free.”  
“But I- its- How can I do that?” Zuko wanted to let go, to be free of his father, to never think of him again but no matter how much he pushed the memories out of his head they always seemed to sneak back in.   
“We all must discover who we are in our own ways. Though I wish I could help more, I do not have all the answers. But I believe you are following the right path and that you will find what you seek. You just need to give yourself the chance to find what you need.” His uncle was as hard to understand as ever, but Zuko did feel comforted by his words. Maybe he was being unfair to himself. Maybe he was more than what he was born as. Maybe he was more like Lee than Zuko. Maybe it wasn’t a lie. It all felt so confusing, because he really had no clue who he was. It was easy to label himself as the Firelord’s son, even if he didn't resonate with the idea or the assumptions and expectations that came with it. He didn’t feel like a Fire Nation Prince, and maybe that was because he wasn’t just that.   
“Now, would you help me prepare to open?” Zuko nodded in response to his uncle’s request, following him downstairs silently as he thought. He wasn’t sure how he was going to figure out who he was, but somehow as daunting and impossible as the task seemed, it was comforting to think he could be something different, something better than he always thought he was. 

Getting into the familiar motions of serving customers and cleaning tables helped to clear Zuko’s mind of all the troubling things that kept him up all night. He let his head be peacefully clear as he focused on just doing his job. 

Midday came fast and the Jasmine Dragon was nearly empty, as most people were opting to get lunch rather than a cup of tea. Zuko was wiping down a table as he heard the bell on the door ring. He looked up to see Sokka, but surprisingly he wasn’t alone, he was with some girl. He’d never heard his friend talk about a girl. Who was she? Was this his girlfriend? Zuko wasn’t sure exactly why, but he really hoped that wasn’t the case.   
“Hey Lee, I have someone I’d like you to meet! This is Suki!” Sokka beamed as he loudly introduced the girl who walked in with him, making a sideways V shape in her direction with his arms. Zuko turned his gaze towards the girl. She had eyes similar to Sokka’s, though hers had a sort of grayish tint to the primarily blue color. Her hair was shorter than most girls he saw, and a lighter brown color. He supposed she was attractive, though he did not consider himself an authority on beauty standards. He never really noticed girls, he blamed that a lot on the fact that he never really had the time or the energy to devote to finding a girlfriend. Though if he was honest, there were many things about a normal life he wished he had, but a girlfriend didn’t make the list. He knew it was normal for guys around his age to care about that sort of thing, and figured it made sense if Sokka was in a romantic relationship with this girl. But for some reason seeing her made Zuko upset somehow.   
“Hi!” The girl waved her hand at Zuko flashing a large friendly smile before continuing “Like Sokka said, I’m Suki. It’s nice to finally put a face to the name! Sokka talks about you all the time so I’m happy to finally get to meet you!”   
Zuko could feel a heat rising up his neck, Sokka talked about him to other people? That thought was weird. It felt uncomfortable, but kind of good. Zuko snapped back out of his thoughts, realizing he needed to respond to the girl.  
“He never told me about you.” His words weren’t the amicable greeting he tried to say, and his tone was harsher than he anticipated. He couldn’t put a finger on why, but he found it very hard to be friendly towards Suki.   
“Um- not true! I’ve definitely talked to you about Suki. She’s in my art class, we paint together all the time!” Sokka cut in defensively, seemingly trying to dissipate the uncomfortable tension that came from Zuko’s rather rude greeting. The blue boy punched his friend lightly on the shoulder, offering him a puzzled look. Zuko knew he had to fight his unreasonably impolite natural reactions to the girl's presence. It wasn’t just her he was hurting, he was hurting Sokka too and he was the last person Zuko wanted to upset.   
“I guess I probably wasn’t listening. I do that sometimes. Or a lot… It's nice to meet you too, Suki.” Zuko did his best to sound genuine, though he wasn’t sure how well it came across. He tried to smile, hoping it would add to the friendliness but it ended being such a weak attempt he probably only looked worse. “Well- I’m kind of working right now…” Zuko tried to excuse himself, feeling uncomfortable with the prospect of spending time with both of them. He enjoyed spending time with Sokka, and he was quick to accept him into his life, but that was an anomaly. Most people were not easy for Zuko to get along with, and that seemed especially true in Suki’s case. But it seems his uncle had other plans for him as he spoke up from behind the counter  
“I was actually just planning to close for lunch” he glared at his uncle who obviously didn't hear (or didn't care about) the discomfort that he felt was very apparent in his last words.  
“Perfect! Then we can go get lunch ourselves and you two can get to know each other better!” Sokka piped up, stepping between Suki and Zuko throwing an arm around each of their shoulders.  
“Sounds great!” Suki replied, sounding painfully positive  
“Yeah.” Zuko added dryly as Sokka led them towards the door. The door wasn’t wide enough for the three of them to fit through in their current formation, so Sokka dropped his arm from Zuko’s shoulder, stepping ahead with his other arm still wrapped around Suki. Though he knew the action was just a small meaningless thing, he still felt inexplicably hurt by it. Stepping out of the door and walking just a couple paces behind Sokka and Suki, he was forced to keep seeing her in the spot he usually stood. He was filled with some feeling he wasn’t entirely aware of, some sort of mix of anger, anxiety and sadness. It was unpleasant to say the least. But he didn't even understand why he was feeling that way. He didn’t like being touched anyways, and Sokka was always way more physical than Zuko usually preferred. But there was always something about Sokka that made Zuko not mind his touchiness, maybe he even liked it a little. Standing on the outside and seeing Suki under his friend's arm just felt bad. He wished he was the one standing there.

His sour mood was only made worse, as while they walked Zuko felt like he wasn’t a part of the conversation. Most of the journey consisted of Suki and Sokka talking together and laughing- a lot of laughing- while Zuko trailed behind, occasionally getting roped into the conversation by Sokka bringing him up or asking him a question. He could see that Sokka was happy with Suki. She seemed like she was more fun than he could ever be. She laughed at his jokes, and she could make him lose it with jokes of her own. Zuko wasn’t able to do humor like that. They seemed to have a lot in common, and even in the short time he’d seen it made a lot of sense why Sokka liked her. It all just made Zuko feel worse. Why did Sokka even spend any time with him when he has a girl like Suki?

By the time they made it to the restaurant Zuko was in no mood for socializing at all. He wanted nothing more than to run home and just crash on his bed, alone. But he was already here, and he had to see this through. They found a table in the corner of the relatively crowded place, Suki and Sokka sat on the same side of the table while Zuko settled in across from them. A waiter seemed to appear out of nowhere, near instantly ready to take their orders.

After receiving their orders and assuring that the food would be ready as soon as possible, the waiter excused himself. Sokka took no time at all to get comfortable, throwing his arm over the back of Suki’s chair while scooting back a bit and resting his left calf over his right knee. Suki looked over at him and smiled. Zuko frowned, looking down at the table to try and hide his involuntary expression.   
“So um, Lee…” He heard Suki’s voice, but didn’t care to look up from the table, just tracing the lines and swirls in the wood with his eyes. “Do you have any experience in martial arts or combat training or anything like that?” Her question dug up a lot of buried memories all at once.   
“Not really.” He replied, still refusing to look up. Truthfully though, he did, a lot of experience actually. But it didn’t matter. Zuko had to do those things. Lee was free from that.  
“Oh, I see. I was just asking because Sokka was telling me how you brought down this guy who was getting aggressive towards him the other day. I thought that was cool.” Suki’s voice trailed off into something significantly more meek as she finished her statement. Zuko had a lot of mixed feelings about that night. On one hand it felt good to have stood up for Sokka, and to help embolden him. But on the other, it felt terrible to see the fear in the man’s eyes looking up at him.  
“Thanks, I guess” she was only trying to be friendly, he knew that. Yet still he found it impossible to muster up the strength to appear jovial himself. There were a few seconds too long of uncomfortable silence at the table before Sokka spoke up.  
“So- uh… Suki- she’s from a place called Kyoshi Island! Have you ever heard of it, Lee?”  
“Nope.” Zuko replied, bringing his hands up to the table, resting one on the wood while the other rubbed over some bumps on the table.  
“Not many people have, we are a pretty small island off the coast of the massive Earth Kingdom. It’s a great place though! Nice warm temperatures most of the year, beaches all around too. There is a giant sea serpent that lives close by, but it rarely bothers people and only comes out to eat like once a week or so...” Suki explained, but was interrupted by Sokka  
“GIANT SEA SERPENT! How did you leave that out when you were telling me about the island!? That seems like a big deal.” Sokka’s voice was unreasonably loud.  
“I don’t know, I mean it's not like we even see it that often. I’ve only spotted it a handful of times in my whole life there.” Suki shrugged nonchalantly.  
“That’s so cool! How big is it? Does it breathe fire? Does it have giant claws or tentacles? I need to know more!” Sokka spoke so fast that there were hardly any breaks between his words.   
“I had no clue this would be so important to you” Suki laughed “Well, it's pretty big, but I couldn't tell you exactly. And it lives in the ocean, so breathing fire doesn’t seem likely, also as far as I can tell it doesn’t have claws or tentacles, just fins. I really don’t know much about it. Guess you’ll just have to visit and study it yourself!” She winked at Sokka with her last words. Zuko wished he hadn't noticed it.   
“I’m definitely visiting! I’ve got to see this thing!” Sokka replied, oozing with enthusiasm. “Lee, you’ll have to come along too of course.”   
“Why?” Zuko looked blankly back at Sokka  
“If that thing decides it wants to try and eat me while I’m poking around I’ll need some back-up, duh. And There’s no one I’d trust more to have my back than you!” Sokka beamed. Zuko was surprisingly touched by his friend’s words, he looked down at the table again, hoping to hide any potentially embarrassing redness on his cheeks.   
“Well, I guess someone has to be a witness.” Zuko replied   
“Yeah!- wait witness? What?” Sokka’s excitement was interrupted at the realization of Zuko’s words. He managed to look up and offer his friend a small smirk. Sokka just continued to look confused as Suki started giggling beside him. 

The food came quickly, and everything felt more comfortable as they ate. Sokka stuffed way too much in his mouth, as usual, and Suki took every opportunity she could to poke fun at him. It kept Zuko off the hook from too much talking, which he appreciated. He took the time to step back into his head, considering that this may be the future of all their lunches. It wasn’t going to be just Sokka and him anymore, was it? If there was one thing Zuko knew about couples is that it was rare to see them apart in social situations. If Suki was in fact Sokka’s girlfriend (as it seemed apparent she was) then he suspected he’d be seeing a lot less of his friend, especially without her there. Thinking about that hurt. He knew it made sense, his friend seemed really happy with this girl and he wanted Sokka to be happy more than anything. But the idea of losing those moments working together in the tea shop, talking together at night, going out to find food for Sokka to gorge on, or even just sitting there working on their own things hurt so much. The more he thought about it the more Zuko realized how important that time he spent with Sokka was to him. If he was honest with himself, the one thing he looked forward to most days was seeing Sokka. It was hard to see Suki as anything but a thief, stealing that time away from him. It was irrational, stupid even. He knew that. She wasn’t a villain of any kind, she was actually a pleasant enough person but it was so hard not to hate her. 

Time passed faster when Zuko wasn’t paying attention, it wasn’t long before Suki and Sokka had finished eating. He looked down at his own hardly touched plate, but couldn’t find his appetite.   
“Lee, you‘ve barely eaten!” Sokka chided   
“I ate some of the food my uncle made not too long ago” he could see his friend squinting at him, as if calling out his lie without needing to say a single word. Sokka eased his gaze before eyeing the plate and snagging a few bites.   
“Can’t let good food go to waste then!” A few particles of partially chewed food flew from his mouth as he tried to speak and eat at the same time. Zuko bit the inside of his lip to fight back a smile. Despite how objectively disgusting it was, the whole sight was just so… Sokka, that he found it hard not to grin. 

Once Sokka was finished picking at Zuko’s plate, they got up to leave from the restaurant. Stepping back outside, the sun was blaring bright, lower in the sky to the point where the horizon was just starting to tint orange, but the street seemed a lot calmer as the lunch rush seemed to be over. This was the prime time for tea for a lot of people, so he figured it was time he got back to the shop.   
“I should go. My uncle probably needs my help.”  
“Do you want me to come too?” Sokka asked, raising his eyebrows at Zuko  
“No.” Was the word that he forced himself to say despite wanting so badly to say ‘yes’. “We’ll be fine.”   
“Are you sure?” Sokka continued to prod.   
“Yes.” Zuko tried hard to remain firm, but he was afraid if Sokka asked one more time he’d let out the feelings he was trying to repress.   
“Alright then, if you’re sure. Then I guess we’ll see you later?” Thankfully Sokka relented.  
“Yeah, see you.” He readied to turn around but Suki spoke up before he got the chance to  
“It was nice meeting you Lee!” She exclaimed with a smile. Zuko forced himself to smile back, but the corners of his mouth felt like they were weighted down.  
“You too.” He quickly pivoted around and made his way down the street in the opposite direction of his friend and Suki. He could hear Sokka and Suki start conversing before he made it out of earshot. He wasn’t sure how, but he had to be okay with Sokka and Suki spending time together. As he walked he tried over and over to convince himself that this wasn’t a big deal, but somehow all his efforts made him even more afraid. Afraid that Suki would steal Sokka completely and eventually he wouldn’t see him at all. Afraid that without Sokka, he'd feel so horribly alone again. But that's what he deserved wasn’t it? It was selfish of him to think he could keep a friend like Sokka. Anyways, Sokka was better off with Suki. She seemed to be a perfect personality match for him. His friend was probably happier to spend time with someone fun like Suki rather than his boring dour self. 

When Zuko got back to the Jasmine Dragon, he slowly made his way behind the counter to slip on his apron. His head hurt from the warring thoughts in his head, and his chest felt like something had been ripped out of it. There wasn’t any time for that though. It was time for him to get back to work.


	7. Symbiosis (Sokka)

The past few days, Lee has definitely been avoiding Sokka. Ever since the lunch introducing him to Suki, Lee had made himself incredibly scarce. Sokka wasn’t sure what went wrong. He could see that Lee wasn’t entirely engaged with their conversation, and he didn’t seem to be all that thrilled to meet Suki. But, he thought that maybe his friend was just stressed and not having a great day. Then the next day when he went to the tea shop and Lee adamantly refused his help, getting almost angry with him, and then the day after where he sped away from him as soon as their class together had concluded and just yesterday Lee didn't even sit next to Sokka at all. Something more had to have happened, but Sokka couldn't figure out what it was. It was driving him mad, wracking his brain going over all the interactions he’d had with Lee over the past few days, trying to see if he could find a clear mistake he made that would change his friend's attitude so drastically. Though despite spending nearly all of his time at this point searching for an answer, he couldn’t think of anything. All he knew was that he needed to address the issue soon, because he was feeling extremely lonely without Lee. Sure, he could hang out with Suki whenever she had time, but it wasn’t the same. He missed Lee. Even just a handful of days without him felt like forever. He spent so much time working with him, studying with him, talking with him. A significant portion of every one of his days was dedicated to spending time with Lee. He loved the comfortable routine he’d fallen into, if he was honest he ended up rushing a lot of his work recently just so he could get out to see his friend earlier. The more he thought about it the more it dawned on him that recently he’d probably been spending more of his waking hours by his friends' side than not. That was the problem wasn’t it? He was smothering him! He was being weird wasn’t he?

He wasn’t really used to having friends. There weren’t really any kids close to his age in the tribe. Especially boys. Any of the boys a couple years older than him left with the men who went to aid in the war effort, and as it so happened he was just below the cut off, so he couldn’t join his dad and the other warriors. Practically all the other boys in the tribe were babies compared to him. He was always just the wrong age for the kids back home. Not that they were afforded much fun time after the invasion anyways. Even kids had to learn to pull their own weight as much as they could. He really only had his sister as a friend, and he definitely smothered her. She would let him have it sometimes, about how he needed to let her do things on her own, and how she didn’t always need him hovering above her. The same sort of thing was happening here, wasn't it? He was hovering over Lee, not leaving him enough room to breathe on his own. He suddenly felt a horrible sense of guilt wash over him. In his sister's case, he always made the excuse that it was for her safety (and it really was, he worried about her constantly after all he’d seen) but when it came to Lee he couldn’t say the same. Lee didn't need his protection, if anything Lee made him feel safer. No, he was clinging to Lee for entirely selfish reasons. Lee was basically his lifeline, the one person he put everything on. When he was with Lee he felt the warmth and safety of being at home despite being so far from his actual home. He’d lost himself in the way it made him feel and didn’t stop to think about how he might be making his friend feel. Though that was a lie, he did think about it. He worried a lot if he was making his friend uncomfortable, especially after dumping his whole life story on him out of nowhere. The more appropriate description of his attitude was that he was convincing himself that Lee didn’t mind. But evidently he did mind, and Sokka was definitely to blame. He knew he needed to give his friend space. It wasn’t fair for Sokka to show up out of nowhere and monopolize Lee’s time. He couldn’t keep being selfish and using Lee to make him feel better if Lee wasn’t getting the same out of their time together. 

Sokka decided instead of trekking down to the tea shop like he desperately wanted to, he would instead go to the library. He loved the place, and it had been far too long since he spent an evening just reading for fun. It seemed like the perfect distraction from his current predicament. He picked up a small empty emerald green bag he’d recently purchased. It sported a gold shiny Earth Kingdom insignia on it, the bag was entirely unnecessary but something about it just spoke to him when he saw it being sold at the markets the other day. After a lot of back and forth (literally walking back and forth from the stall and leaving the market) he decided he couldn't pass it up and shelled out the cash for it. It may not have looked particularly good with the blue clothing he sported regularly, and most men may not carry bags around that were anywhere near as flashy as this one, but he liked it. He felt confident walking down the street parading the fancy looking bag around, it was a touch of classiness that he loved. He had not had an opportunity to use it yet, but he figured that a book bag was the perfect excuse. After all, he never left the library empty handed.

Once he stepped into the library the intoxicating smell of books and paper overtook his senses. The smell of new knowledge. It was fantastic. He closed his eyes to take a deep breath, letting the scent and the feel of the quiet comfortable place calm his nerves. He shook his head, before opening his eyes and starting his hunt for the most interesting books he could find. He figured tonight was a good night to stock up on good reads if more of his evenings were going to be spent alone, he’d be burning through them fast. He took his time perusing each isle, carefully scanning the spines of every book that caught his eye as he walked past. He hadn't even managed to make it out of the weapons section before his bag was filled to bursting. He decided that he needed to take a moment to scan some of these more thoroughly and weed out a couple of them (for now anyways), so he took his hefty stash and went to seek out a table to spread out on. 

He walked towards the center of the building, where a large space was dedicated to tables students frequently used to study on. He walked past several occupied tables filled with his peers looking intently into their textbooks or writing fervently on scrolls. It wasn’t until near the end of the long stretch of tables he finally found one with enough space for him to organize his findings. He took all his books out and separated them into four stacks on the table in front of him, picking up a red book entitled “The Fine Art of Swordplay”. Just as he opened the cover, a very familiar disgruntled sigh drew his attention. He took down one of the book stacks blocking his view and noticed Lee sitting at the next table up from him. He was staring down at a book running both of his hands through his hair on the sides of his head. He was clearly very frustrated. 

Sokka was extremely torn on what to do. He tried telling himself that he needed to give Lee space, that was the whole point of coming to the library in the first place. But that didn’t work, since apparently Lee had also decided to come there. But no matter what he tried to tell himself, his instincts were to reach out to his friend, to comfort him. He couldn’t stand seeing him look so distressed. Before he really decided on anything, his legs had made the decision for him and he quickly approached Lee. He lightly put his hand on his shoulder, his heart racing in his chest as Lee startled looking up at him. He saw his friend's eyes wide in surprise and the worry crept back in. Maybe he shouldn’t be doing this, maybe he should’ve stuck to the plan of giving his friend space. 

“W-what are you doing here?” Lee questioned, eyes still fixed on Sokka  
“Oh- I ,uh, well- those books there” he pointed to the stacks of books at the table he just walked away from “I was, uh, just going to read, but I saw you and you- well, you know I guess I shouldn’t… um, sorry I bothered you, I’ll go find another spot.” Sokka felt his face burn with embarrassment as he quickly turned away, but Lee grabbed his wrist before he could make it too far.

“No. You don’t have to do that.” Sokka turned around to see his friend, his eyes looked almost… sad. “I- I just came here to study, but… I’m honestly not making much progress.” Lee released his grip on Sokka’s wrist. Sokka took the seat to the right of his friend, turning his gaze to the book in front of him.

“Government eh? Always tricky, that political business." Sokka tried to joke to lighten the mood, but Lee didn’t respond. He looked over to his friend who was once again running his fingers through his hair. “Is everything okay?” Sokka asked, trying his best to sound soft despite how worried he was.

“I’m, yeah. It’s fine.” Lee brought both his hands down to the table, using one to flip the page of the government text. Sokka rested his hand on his friend's wrist rubbing his index finger in a slow circle motion against the round bony bit that protruded from it. He noticed his friend's gaze shift to where they were touching, he felt bad for invading his space and moved to pull back. To his surprise, Lee quickly moved his other hand to stop him from pulling away. After a couple seconds he moved his hand back. Sokka hesitated, looking at his friend, whose gaze was still fixed on the same spot, before he resumed the small circling motion. It seemed to help his friend, to his relief. He could see Lee relaxing, closing his eyes as the tight crease in his brow fell, and he let his shoulders slump back. He felt something flutter inside him as he watched his friend. He was glad Lee’s eyes were closed, because he knew his face had to be redder than raw meat. 

“Actually… I’ve been struggling with my classes- mostly this one.” Lee opened his eyes and used his free hand to shove the book, displacing it a couple inches away from him. “It’s just- I don’t know… I’m not smart enough for all this. I don’t even know why I thought I could do this! I’ve always failed at everything my whole life, why would this be any different?” Lee’s breathing was getting fast and irregular but his eyes stayed glued to Sokka’s hand on his wrist. Sokka froze. The things his friend was saying were heavy, and he wanted to think carefully about how to respond. He placed his other hand on Lee’s forearm causing his amber eyes to meet Sokka’s. 

“Lee… hey, it's okay. Listen to me.” His friend's eyes were watery as he looked back at him “I know it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, but please don’t let the stress bring you down. You’re not gonna fail at anything, I know you can do this!... If it’s stuff with school, I’m always more than happy to help study with you or whatever you need! Really! Ask me anytime! I’m always looking for an excuse to see you anyways…” he didn't mean to say those last words aloud, they just slipped out amidst his panicked rambling.

“You…” Lee started to respond but Sokka found himself too anxious to hear what he would say to his strange admission that he cut him off. He quickly broke eye contact and moved his hands to grab the government textbook on the table between them.

“So what part are you studying now? Is this the section about the relationship of the Earth King and the Congregation of Representatives?” Sokka asked, flipping through a couple of the familiar pages.

“Uh, y-yeah” Lee replied, his voice was weak

“I found this stuff really fascinating. It's so different from how things work back in the Water Tribe, though I guess with a population and land mass like a million times bigger than ours, it makes sense they needed to make something more complex and comprehensive…” 

“Sokka, please. Y-you don’t have to help me. I waste enough of your time already, I can’t make you deal with all my problems. I-I’ve got to do this on my own.” Lee raised his voice

“Waste my time? Not a second I’ve spent with you has been a waste. Lee, you’re my best friend and… well, if I’m being truly honest here, spending time with you is like the only thing I look forward to on a daily basis. That’s why these past few days have sucked. If anything I’ve felt like I was being a burden on you. I mean, I’ve honestly been super invasive to your life and I’m really sorry about that. I know I need to give you space and I will do that. But, I really, really mean it when I say I want to help you! So please let me.” Sokka had to take a deep breath, he found himself being far more long winded than he planned, but it felt good to let his true feelings out. He only hoped his friend would respond well, but his silence and expression were hard to read. 

“I-I didn’t think that… you h-haven’t been i-invading anything. I like h-having you a-around… i-I’ve been a lot- a lot h-happier since we- I met you. B-but, I’m b-boring and- and y-you’re, you like jokes and fun and t-things I’m not. And a-all I’ve d-done is be a n-needy loser who needs y-you t-to-to…”

Sokka couldn’t do it. Giving space be damned. He couldn’t sit there and see his friend like that. He pulled his friend’s arm to turn his body to face him, scooting his chair until it touched the other. He threw his arms over Lee’s shoulders and pulled him close into a tight embrace. He could feel Lee nuzzle his face into his shoulder, a few warm tears wetting the fabric there. There was a well of emotions filling up his chest. He couldn’t determine what the feeling was exactly, but it was strong. It compelled him to pull his friend closer and lean his head against his dark hair. He left one arm tight around Lee’s shoulders as he let the other fall to his back where he started to move it in the instinctual circular motion. Lee brought his arms up underneath Sokka’s and wrapped them around his back, clutching the blue cloth shirt in tight fists. 

“I-I’m s-sorry. I-I d-don’t know w-what’s wrong with m-me.” Lee’s words came out in muffled sobs against Sokka’s shoulder.

“Let’s just both be there for each other, how does that sound?” Sokka asked softly

“O-okay” Lee replied, at a volume that was barely audible

Sokka continued to hold Lee, feeling his breathing start to steady overtime. His friend kept his head firmly pressed into Sokka’s shoulder even as his hands loosened their grip on his shirt. Lee let his hands fall to more lightly wrap around Sokka’s lower back. Sokka let his eyes close as he savored the peaceful warmth surging through his body. Holding on to Lee there was of course the heat that comes from close human contact, but he also felt a wonderful heat inside his chest and running through his veins. He felt his lips curl into a smile with a will of their own. Any stress, or anxiety he may have felt was completely melted away by the warm sensation. He felt like he could sit here forever, but sadly he couldn’t. Lee eventually lifted his head and pushed weakly away from Sokka’s chest. Though he didn’t want to let go, he relented and pulled back looking into his friend's eyes again as they broke apart. Lee’s face was red and slightly puffy from the tears, he seemed embarrassed by his state and turned away from Sokka opting to face towards the Government book on the table. 

“So, the Earth King, he- he doesn’t have full authority over the ruling of the nation right? He sort of splits his power with the Congregation?” Lee asked, flipping the page back to the one he was looking at earlier. Sokka went along with the change of subject, hoping his friend was changing the subject because he actually felt better.

“Exactly. The system ensures that the Earth King can’t make decisions that would affect the entire Kingdom without the approval of the representatives from the villages and cities throughout the nation. Aside from decisions about war and certain orders during wartime, then he has fast acting authority…” Sokka explained pointing to a particular passage in the textbook for Lee to focus on. “But for the most part, things like taxes, tariffs, education policies, or like basically any other laws that have to do with everyday life for citizens of the Earth Kingdom, is a combination of both the representatives and the King.”

“So the Congregation of Representatives is just just there to approve decisions the King makes based on the way they think the citizens would react?” Lee asked, still eyeing the passage

“That’s part of their job. But since the representatives are chosen by the people in every province they represent, they are usually a big part of their local community and have a deep understanding about what life is like there. So they actually come up with a lot of the ideas that may serve as solutions to problems their constituents face. They discuss those things amongst each other and if they agree on it then they actually present it to the Earth King to seek his approval as well. So it kinda goes both ways.” Sokka took the book and located another section before passing it back to Lee.

“That makes a lot of sense. It always seemed like a King would have to rule with uncontested power and authority to keep his nation in line. But the Earth King seems to work with the people and the nation seems to prosper because of it… its not just about gaining power in the government, they really do help the people. At least that's what it seems like.” Lee seemed to be genuinely invested in the content, and Sokka loved to see him like that. He smiled to himself as Lee continued to read the passages. When his friend shifted to look up at him, he made sure to quickly cast his gaze back towards the book and plaster a more neutral expression across his face.  
“So, what does the Water Tribe’s government look like?” 

“Oh, well… like I said my Tribe is pretty small, especially now. We’re nowhere near as big as even just this one city. Honestly we're just like a single Earth Kingdom village in size at the moment… but we like to make decisions that everyone has a say in. Similar to how the people all vote on their village representatives here, in the Tribe we hold open discussions to everyone who wants to participate. We let anyone have a say in the big choices regarding our tribe. We don’t really have to deal with things like taxes and stuff since we’re small, but when we’re working towards community construction projects and stuff everyone tries to pitch in and help each other. If we get bigger we’d need to make some changes for sure… but what we have works for now.” Sokka was happy to talk about his home to someone who wouldn’t judge him, or call their practices strange. 

“I get why it would be hard with a large nation, but that seems nice. To let everyone have a say. It’s probably nice to know and have the ability to weigh in on big things that are going to happen. I think that's the most important thing. Making sure the government or leaders do more good than harm for their citizens…” Lee seemed to get lost in thought. Sokka heard a bell sound and turned to look out the window. It was dark out now, and the library was likely going to close soon.

“Hey, uh, I’ve got all my notes and stuff on this back at my house… if you want to you can come over and we can look over some of them and stuff?” Sokka offered, hoping his friend would accept

“Sure.” Lee nodded and picked up his book and a small satchel on the chair next to him. 

“Cool!” Sokka shot up from his seat with a smile, pushing his chair under the table. He turned his head back to the pile of books he left at the table behind him. “Oh, but first I need to check out a couple things.” 

Lee followed Sokka as he inspected his stacks of books. He made sure to move as swiftly as he could, picking a few of the most stand out volumes and tossing them into his bag before making his way to the counter. 

After checking out the titles, Sokka led Lee out onto the street, illuminated in a low yellow glow of the street lights.

“So uh, it's not too far from here. My place that is.” Sokka said, now realizing how nervous he was taking Lee to his house. He didn’t think about it earlier but despite how many times he’d gone to the Jasmine Dragon and Lee’s room above it, he had never invited his friend to his own house. He remembered how neat Lee kept his room and worried about the state of his house compared to it. “Oh- uh, also, it might be a little um, messy, so uh, sorry about that.” Sokka explained sheepishly, rubbing his hand against the back of his neck as they walked.

“I’m sure it's not that bad.” Lee spoke matter of factly. Sokka was confident he was going to take those words back when he got inside, which made him even more nervous.

It only took a few more minutes of walking before they made it to Sokka’s front door. He dug around his pocket for a second, a piece of a paper snack wrapper falling to the ground as he fished out the key. Lee bent down to pick up the trash as Sokka fumbled to get the door unlocked. 

“You littered.” Lee scolded as Sokka flung the door open to the dark room. He turned on the light as they stepped in, illuminating the open rooms and revealing the mess of books and papers all around them.   
“Oh…” Lee stood still as he turned his head to scan the area.

“See? I told you. It is that bad. Sorry. I wasn’t expecting to have visitors…” Sokka rubbed the back of his neck again as embarrassment burned on his cheeks. He looked down at his shoes, not wanting to look at the mess he was presenting to his friend for the first time. He did not like looking like a slob.

“Oh… i-its fine… really… but- maybe we could uh, pick some of it up?” Sokka looked back at Lee, his eyes were darting back and forth between various overly cluttered spots. 

“Oh, yeah, of course! I’ll do that- just give me a few minutes.” Sokka started to scramble to pick up as many loose pieces of parchment of the floor and nearby furniture as he could carry.

“Let me help.” Lee followed behind picking up the papers Sokka missed or dropped. “You know, it’ll be more effective if we take it one section at a time.” Sokka turned to face Lee, nodding in agreement. 

“Oh yeah, of course.” Sokka shuffled all the papers in his arms into a single stack that he set carefully on the table. Lee stacked the papers he was holding on top.

“Why don’t we start there.” Lee pointed to the sitting room, which was now so littered with readings, papers and scrap doodles that the colors of the cushions barely were visible through small openings between the clutter. 

“Sounds good to me!” Sokka made his way to the sitting room scooping up the papers off the chairs and couch. Lee followed behind, kneeling on the floor and picking up some of the books laying there. Sokka took a seat on one of the now clear chairs and started to look through the pages he was holding.   
“This is actually… well, I have a system… sort of. This room is where I study for and do all my Government work so all these books and things are actually all for that.” Sokka explained, hoping to sound a little less disgusting.

“A system like that is a good start. But you’ve got a lot of stuff, and especially as you add more books or notes it's important to keep up with them and make sure they stay organized in an easy to access fashion. I can’t imagine it’s easy to find any particular thing in this current state.” Sokka looked to Lee, who seemed hyper focused on gathering the reading materials scattered about the floor.   
“What’s this?” Lee looked back at Sokka pointing towards a wooden crate.

“Oh, that? Well the other day, there was a guy selling a bunch of apples for pretty cheap. They looked really good so I bought a whole bunch of them. I actually thought I could eat them all myself, but well… I couldn’t. Most of them went bad actually, a little disappointing. But uh, yeah, when I bought them the guy let me take the crate to carry them. It still smells like apples! I think…” Sokka glanced at the crate before looking back at Lee who gave him a puzzled look. He flashed his friend a small shy smile before going back to sorting out his papers. He took the doodles and drawings out in one pile and kept all his notes together in a separate one.

“Well, that’s… interesting. But we could use this as a sort of shelf to keep your books together and off the floor.” Sokka watched as Lee flipped the crate on its side and started to slide the stacks of books onto it in a fashion similar to the shelves at the Library. He felt that fluttery feeling in his chest again as he eyed his friend's face. Lee was so focused on getting the space cleaned and organized. The way he approached it was impressive. He quickly came up with solutions that transformed the space from a messy pile back into a function sitting room that still kept all of Sokka’s important stuff together. 

It took a while but eventually the room was spotless. Lee helped get all the books together on the crate shelf, organized by title. They spent time going through the massive stacks of papers and managed to weed out all the ones that were useless, either because they were messy sketches or because they were completely illegible. The remaining papers Lee separated by topic and organized them according to when they appear in the textbook. 

“Thanks so much, this is amazing! So much better than I had it.” Sokka exclaimed, nudging his friend who sat next to him on the floor. 

“Yeah, well. Don’t mention it. Glad I could help some” Lee nudged Sokka back “But we still have a lot of work to do” Lee gestured out to the Kitchen and dining areas. 

“Mmm, right…” Sokka let out a forced uncomfortable laugh “but we should probably save that for another time. We need to make sure we have time to go over more of the Government stuff tonight.” Lee stared off into the still messy rooms for a few long seconds before turning back to face Sokka.

“Fine. You’re right. But we’re fixing that tomorrow” Lee spoke with a firm commanding tone. 

“Yessir!” Sokka saluted Lee, earning him an eye roll in response. He laughed and fell on his side. It felt really good to have his friend back. 

After reeling from his laughing fit, Sokka scooted over to the newly organized shelf of books and selected a dark brown one. He opened it up and flicked through pages until he found the section he was searching for. He handed the open book to Lee.

“That chapter there is a pretty good supplementary reading to the textbook information. I think that could help you a lot in getting a better understanding of some of the stuff we were talking about earlier.” Sokka pointed to the spot on the page where the section started.

“Alright, thanks. I’ll read it.” Lee stood up and brought the book over to the couch where he flopped down on his back. He held the book above his face as he started reading. Sokka watched him for a few seconds before realizing it was probably uncomfortable for him to be staring at him. He got up from the floor and walked to grab a few blank sheets of paper from the counter. He swiped a pencil from the table on his way back before plopping back down on the wood floor. 

“If you’ve got any questions I’ll answer them as best I can!” Sokka laid out his paper on the floor and turned to lay on his stomach, using his elbows to prop his chest off the ground. He grabbed his pencil and moved to start drawing on the paper in front of him. He took a moment to look around the room as he pondered on what to draw. His eyes settled back on Lee, and he decided to draw his friend as he sat there reading. He got to work sketching an outline on the paper. His tongue stuck out the corner of his mouth as he tried his best to make a shape that looked like a person. He kept glancing up at Lee, trying to copy his pose to the best of his ability. 

“So…” Sokka glanced back up at Lee, who was now halfway sitting as he looked down at Sokka’s paper. “What are you doing?”

“Drawing, duh.” Sokka replied, shrugging his shoulders 

“Drawing what?” Lee pressed

“You.” Sokka felt some heat rising to his face “but I’m not done yet, so look away!” He pulled the sketch closer to him and attempted to use his free arm to shield it from Lee’s view. Lee fell back into his previous position on the couch.

“My hair does not look like that.” Sokka glared back at Lee, though the effort was wasted as his eyes were once again glued to the book. 

Sokka got back to work, determined to make this sketch look as close to what he was seeing as he could. He went in to make careful lines and darken certain areas to look like shadows. He was trying all the things the teacher had shown them about drawing techniques. When he finally looked up again, he noticed his friend had fallen asleep. The book was still open, lying on his chest. His head was turned slightly to the side giving Sokka a clear view of his face. The fluttery feeling returned as he saw his friend sleeping peacefully on his couch. 

Sokka decided he was also feeling rather tired himself. He picked up his paper and set it atop of the crate shelf. He retrieved the book from Lee’s chest, closing it quietly and sliding it back onto its place on the shelf before walking off to his bedroom to retrieve some blankets and a couple pillows. He carefully covered his friend with one of the blankets and tossed his pillows onto the floor near the couch leaving the other blanket with them. Lee stirred a bit seeming to respond to the warmth. Sokka switched off the lights before settling into the spot on the floor he cushioned with his pillows. He pulled his blanket up to his chin as he shot a final glance up at his now sleeping friend. A sliver of moonlight shown on Lee’s cheek, Sokka could see what looked like a small smile on his face as he slept. He smiled back as he closed his eyes and allowed himself to start to drift off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Late happy Halloween to everyone!


	8. Feelings (Zuko (Lee))

Zuko’s eyes opened to see the blinding sun shining directly into them. He sat up quickly covering his face with his arm as he did so. A sudden chill ran through him at the change in temperature as the blanket that was covering him fell off the couch. He looked out into the room, realizing he fell asleep on Sokka’s couch. His uncle was definitely going to be worried that he didn't come home last night. 

Despite the fact it was obviously later in the morning than he was used to waking up, he let himself fall back into the couch again. He laid there looking up at the ceiling as he lost himself in his thoughts. He felt well rested for the first time in a few days. He hadn’t been sleeping well with the stress and anxiety of avoiding Sokka. He’d forced himself to push Sokka away despite how much he wanted to keep spending time with him. He thought that was the answer to his internal predicament, but apparently Sokka actually did like being around him? Even with Suki in the picture? It was hard to believe, but Sokka seemed so genuine when he spoke last night that he couldn't deny it. Sokka did like spending time with him. And he really liked spending time with Sokka. 

The only issue was that he never knew what he was feeling or how to handle his emotions when it came to Sokka. Most of the time he would default to feeling angry when he got confused or frustrated. But he just couldn’t get mad at Sokka. Sokka was always so kind and comforting and warm. He couldn’t get angry with him at all. Instead his mess of emotions always decided to come out in the form of tears, and he hated it. He hated feeling like a baby who always looked to Sokka for comfort. If his father were to witness his behavior… No he couldn't think of that. 

Zuko cleaned his mind of the useless thoughts and let his hand fall hard off the side of the couch. To his surprise, the back of his hand came in contact with something he wasn’t expecting.

“Ow!” He heard Sokka cry out. He sat up quickly and looked down at the floor beside him. Sokka was laying there atop a messy makeshift bed rubbing his eyes.

“Sorry. I didn't know you were there.” Zuko replied, turning so that his feet could touch the floor as Sokka sat up. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m good. That’s probably the most effective way to wake me up honestly.” Sokka laughed and looked up at Zuko “You fell asleep while you were reading last night, I didn't want to wake you up...”

“I guess I was just tired.” Zuko stretched his arms high above his head as he arched his back to pop his stiff spine. “But I slept way better than normal… thanks for the blanket.” Zuko looked back at Sokka offering him a small smile. Sokka smiled back and brought his hand up to rub the back of his neck.

“Oh yeah, no problem.” Sokka responded meekly. His expression suddenly shifted as panic flashed over his face. He sprung to his feet .  
“Oh man, we have classes today! We gotta get ready!”

Zuko had forgotten about that. Normally he would be panicking at the prospect of being late or missing, but he was uncharacteristically calm. He wasn’t sure why, but his anxieties seemed to want to take the morning off, and he was happy to let them.

“We do, don’t we?” Zuko replied. Sokka rushed into his bedroom, likely unable to hear his words.

“Do you want to shower first? Or should I?” Sokka shouted out from the bedroom.

Showers? Zuko hadn't thought about that. It was a part of his normal morning routine, and he probably needed the rinse, but the idea of showering here felt weird.

“Uh, you.” Zuko called back. Sokka popped his head out of the doorframe

“Okay, I’ll just be a couple minutes then you can go” he was out of sight and sprinting into his bathroom before Zuko could say anything back. 

He stood up and stretched more to the sides, loosening his whole body up. He took a few steps over towards the crate shelf they set up last night. On top of it rested the drawing Sokka had been working on. The drawing of him. Zuko picked it up to inspect it closer. It wasn’t perfect, but he could see some semblance of himself in the drawing. He felt his lips curl into a smile as he continued looking at it. It was obvious Sokka was really trying his best to draw as realistically as he could. Remembering the way Sokka looked as he drew, with his tongue stuck out slightly as he tended to do when he was concentrating, it made him feel warm inside. He put the drawing carefully back on the crate before kneeling down to pull out the book he was reading last night. Once he had the brown book, he took a seat back on the couch, flipping to the page he last remembered reading.

He only got through a couple pages before he heard the water shut off. He closed the book and stood up as he heard the bathroom door open. Sokka appeared in the doorway after a couple seconds. He was still very wet, as he stood there wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. Zuko was not expecting to see him like that. He knew he shouldn’t stare, but he found it impossible to take his eyes off Sokka. His hair was dripping and messy as it seemed to have only been half dried from a quick rub through with a towel. Zuko had only ever seen Sokka with his hair pulled up in his ‘Warrior’s wolf tail’ as he called it. But his hair wasn’t the only thing Zuko noticed. He couldn't help but eye his friends, now exposed, torso. He was lean, but certainly toned. If Zuko was honest, he had considered a few times what his friend's body might’ve looked like underneath his typical blue outerwear. He was sure that sort of thinking was inappropriate and always tried to shake it out of his head as soon as he realized what he was thinking. But Sokka did indeed look similar to how he’d imagined he might look. He could feel his body reacting strangely to the sight of his barely covered friend. He sat down again, forcing himself to look away despite his strange desire to keep staring. 

“Alright, shower is all yours. There’s towels in the bathroom closet. Um, you don’t have any clothes though… we’re not exactly the same size, but I think some of my clothes should fit you if you want to borrow something?” Sokka called out from the doorway 

“Y-yeah, uh s-sure, uh thanks.” He choked out a response, trying his hardest not to look back at Sokka. 

Zuko stayed uncomfortably seated trying to get a hold of his thoughts hoping that the problem he was having would fix itself. To his dismay, it didn't seem to pass and he couldn't get the image of Sokka out of his head. He knew he had to get ready to leave soon or they wouldn't make it in time. He made sure to walk far faster than usual as he made his way through Sokka’s bedroom and into the bathroom. He caught a glimpse of his friend rustling through some drawers before he shut the door. 

Normally he preferred a warm shower, like anybody else, but today he turned the water cold in hopes that it would counteract the intense heat he was feeling. He slipped out of his clothes and into the frigid water. He immediately felt a shiver run through his body. Thankfully the cold had the effect he hoped it would, and he was quickly relieved of his previous issue. Though he couldn’t help but worry about why Sokka had caused that particular issue in the first place. That sort of thing was not supposed to happen when looking at his best friend, especially his male best friend. But spirits save him, Sokka was nice to look at. Very nice. But that wasn’t right. That couldn't be right. Guys aren’t supposed to think about other guys that way. He wasn’t supposed to think that Sokka had pretty eyes, or nice hair, or a great physique. He definitely shouldn’t be thinking of the words ‘beautiful’ or ‘gorgeous’ or ‘breathtaking’ when the image of his friend popped into his head. And he absolutely should not ever be imagining what it might be like to kiss him. And yet those were the thoughts that lingered on his mind. Worse still, he wanted to consider that maybe Sokka had the same thoughts about him. 

He punched a fist into the hard wall sending a surge of pain through his arm, muttering curses under his breath. He couldn’t be thinking about things that never could, and never should happen. Sokka was his friend. If he kept letting his thoughts roam to those inappropriate things Sokka would catch on. He’d be disgusted if he found out Zuko was thinking about him that way. Sokka wouldn’t want anything to do with him, and he’d lose one of the most important people in his life. He couldn’t afford to lose Sokka. 

He knew he couldn't stay in the shower forever, and the cold water was starting to hurt as it fell on his skin. He lathered himself with the bar of soap beside him. The smell was pleasant. It smelled like Sokka. That wasn’t what he needed to think about. 

He finished rinsing himself off and shut off the water before stepping out and making his way to grab a towel from the closet. He shivered, teeth chattering as he dried his body. As he rubbed the towel against his head in an attempt to dry his hair he heard a knock on the door.

“I- um got some clothes here that I think should work for you. I’ll just set them in front of the door for whenever you’re ready.” Sokka called from the other side of the door. 

“T-thanksss” Zuko chattered back through his shivers

He waited a moment, hearing the sound of Sokka’s footsteps fade as he got further from the door. Opening the door, he saw the pile of unfolded clothes Sokka had left for him. As was the case with most of Sokka’s clothing, the shirt was made of soft faded blue fabric. The pants were a grayish blue color as well. He grabbed the lump of clothes and took them back into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Pulling on the pants, they were surprisingly baggy around his thighs, holding only loosely around his waist yet the bottom of the pants fit more snugly on his calves. The shirt was tight on his chest, which was expected as Sokka’s shoulders weren’t quite as broad as Zuko’s. Despite the height difference the clothes seemed to fall at least a length that didn't make it obvious he was wearing the wrong size. He inspected his appearance in the mirror. It was strange to see himself wearing such a vibrant color. He’d been only wearing neutral unassuming colors for the longest time, hoping to blend in with the crowd. The look suited Sokka far more than it suited him.

He stepped out of the bathroom and walked out to the sitting room, where Sokka was lounging on the couch. The pants Sokka lent him were sliding lower as he walked, he found himself grabbing the waistband to keep them from falling off. Sokka looked up and seemed to notice that Zuko was struggling.

“Oh, sorry, I forgot to get a tie for those.” Sokka sprung up from the chair rushing past Zuko and back into the bedroom. After a couple seconds he reappeared holding a brown strap like thing.   
“Here” Sokka presented the object to Zuko, who took it with his free hand. It appeared to just be a long leather strip. 

Zuko tried to wrap it around his waist and started to attempt to tie it off in the front, but Sokka stepped up before he could finish.

“Actually, it won’t stay on if you just do that.” He grabbed the strap and reached his arms around Zuko, threading the leather through loops along the back and sides of the pants that Zuko had not noticed before. Feeling Sokka’s hands trail so closely to his waist sent that uncomfortable heat through his body again. He swallowed hard as Sokka tied off the belt, his fingers dangerously close to Zuko’s crotch. 

“There.” Sokka stepped back and eyed Zuko, flashing a smile at him when their eyes met. “I think those look better on you than they do on me.” 

Zuko felt his face burning furiously as he bit the inside of his lip. The compliment made him feel good, even if he didn't agree. He turned his face towards the floor, hoping Sokka didn’t notice how terribly red his face must’ve been. He cleared his throat before forcing himself to speak.

“We have to leave if we are going to get to class on time.” Zuko kept his face turned away from Sokka as he went to grab his satchel off the floor by the couch. 

“Right. Let’s go then!” Sokka shouted, humming a little tune as he strutted up to the door. Zuko followed close behind Sokka as he exited the house. 

“Are you going to lock that?” Zuko asked, noticing Sokka had already started walking down the street.

“Oops. Probably should do that!” Sokka ran back to the door, patting his pockets down in search of the key. “Just a sec, forgot the key inside.” Sokka popped back into the house, rubbing the back of his neck as he did.

After a couple minutes of impatiently tapping his foot against the pavement, Sokka re-emerged holding the key high above his head.

“Got it!” Sokka exclaimed with a wide smile. He attempted to stick the key into the lock but ended up dropping it. Zuko watched as his friend bent down to retrieve the key and finally managed to lock the door.

“That took forever. We’re definitely going to be late now” Zuko did his best to sound stern, attempting to hide the fact that he found Sokka’s clumsy behavior strangely endearing. 

“No we’re not!” Zuko was taken by surprise as Sokka sprinted past him, wrapping a hand around his wrist as he jolted him along with him. 

Zuko struggled to keep up as his friend ran through the streets, maneuvering around crowds and obstacles all while gripping his wrist tight. Eventually, after a series of tight corner and close calls, they made it to the classroom just before Professor Chang. Both of them were panting loudly as they settled into their seats, Professor Chang shooting them a glare as she set up her desk.

“Told you we wouldn’t be late” Sokka whispered. Zuko just rolled his eyes, still struggling to catch his breath. 

Focusing on Professor Chang’s lecture was harder than ever. Zuko was all too aware of Sokka’s presence beside him. He only managed to catch bits and pieces of what she was saying. Every time their legs bumped against each other or their arms brushed it sent a very distracting tingling sensation through his body. The worst part was, that rather than feeling annoyed and wishing for it to stop he kept feeling like it wasn’t enough. He wanted more. But that was the problem, and why something had to be terribly wrong with him. It wasn’t okay for him to be thinking like that, and yet despite how hard he tried to bury those thoughts they just wouldn't go away.

He stole a glance over at his friend beside him. Sokka was resting his head in the palm of his left hand as he looked forward, his right hand tapping a quiet rhythm against the table. He shouldn’t have done that. Just seeing him made Zuko’s heart race faster. He did his best to shake it off, turning his gaze back towards Professor Chang, who was pointing to a diagram she had drawn on the chalkboard. 

The entire period was a terrible struggle, and Zuko was absolutely certain that failing History was going to be inevitable if he couldn’t get a hold of himself. As Professor Chang turned out into the hall, Sokka stood up from his seat.

“History is frustrating. I mean it’s interesting, but there’s a lot that doesn’t make sense ya know?” Sokka sounded annoyed. Zuko stood up beside him, walking with him as they followed the line of students filing into the hall.

“Uh, yeah…” Zuko was hoping his friend wasn’t about to reference specific things he likely didn't catch from the lecture.

“Like, if people had the power to manipulate elements, and spirits were supposedly instrumental to so many events where did they all go? Why haven’t I ever heard of someone now who can “bend” elements? Why don’t we see spirits anymore like the people of the past did? It's hard to believe if those are anything more than just stories. I mean they don’t offer any explanation anywhere I’ve seen of a concrete explanation for what happened that changed everything, I mean I haven’t read everything, but I’ve read a lot and asked a lot of professors. No one has anything solid to say!” Sokka huffed as he swung his arms up in dramatic movements.

“They aren’t just stories. Not all of them anyways. There are spirits and there are people who can bend elements.” Zuko could answer that clearly, despite missing significant portions of history lectures. 

“How can you be so sure?” Sokka inquired 

“I… I just know there are.” Zuko knew he couldn’t say anything more without revealing things he had to keep hidden. 

“I guess I should believe them, to some extent. It's not plausible to assume people from all over the world came up with strikingly similar accounts of such outlandish things without some sort of observable occurrence sparking it. But I just wish there were answers. Oh well.” Sokka let out a sigh as they stepped out of the building and back into the warm sun outside. “Well, I guess I’ll see you at lunch yeah?” 

“Yeah, see you.” Zuko nodded towards Sokka, who offered back a big smile and a wave as they parted ways, taking different paths.

It was significantly easier to focus without Sokka right beside him. Though he still struggled to keep his mind on track, the lack of a physical distraction helped him retain more of the lecture. Government was easier to follow after talking things through and reading over materials with Sokka. He even managed to voluntarily involve himself in the class discussion, as for once he didn't feel completely lost and out of the loop in terms of the discussion topics. He left the class in remarkably high spirits compared to most days where he spent his lonely walks cursing himself for being a failure. He felt like he actually took a step in a positive direction rather than falling deeper into a hole. He had Sokka to thank for that.

He had Sokka to thank for a lot of the good things in his life now. Perhaps that’s why Sokka had such a magnetic effect on him. He was the embodiment of something good. Tangible happiness. Sokka stepped into his life and suddenly everything got a little brighter. The world wasn’t lonely, he didn’t have to do everything on his own. He liked seeing Sokka because he was so closely affiliated with positive emotions. It was the feelings of comfort and safety that he was so attracted to. Not just Sokka himself. That made sense. Those weird thoughts would sort themselves out once he got better at understanding the new emotions he was feeling. 

He approached the courtyard where he had been meeting Sokka for lunch. He spotted his blue clothed friend talking to a girl as he made his way over to them. The girl, who turned out to be Suki, turned to look at Zuko as he closed in on the short wall they were sitting on. 

“Wow Lee! Taking style tips from Sokka? I like it.” Suki called out as she hopped off the wall. 

“Thanks, I guess.” Zuko replied, feeling awkward. Suki just giggled a bit before turning back to Sokka.

“Well, I’ve got a class to get to. I’ll see you later!” She pushed Sokka’s shoulder and turned back towards Zuko “see ya Lee!” 

“Bye Suki!” Sokka shouted after her as she walked off towards a class building. 

Zuko took a seat on the wall next to Sokka.

“Where are we going today?” Zuko asked, wondering if Sokka had found yet another new food place. He was fond of his food, and Zuko was more than happy to let him take the lead.

“Actually, I got out of class early, I picked up some dumplings from a place Suki told me about.” Sokka grabbed a box from beside him and plopped it onto Zuko’s lap. “They smelled really good, but somehow I managed to resist while you took your sweet time.” Sokka’s tone was teasing 

“I’m not slow, you are just always rushing. My uncle always says something about taking your time and savoring moments or roses or something. Maybe you should try it.” Zuko tried his hand at teasing his friend back. He popped open the box, grabbing a pair of chopsticks from inside.

“Rushing headfirst into everything is how I’ve found the best things. I wouldn’t have met you if I hadn’t been rushing to get to class” Sokka grabbed the other pair of chopsticks and snatched a dumpling out of the box. Zuko felt his face heating up with Sokka’s comment. He decided not to respond, instead trying one of the dumplings himself.

“How was your government class today?” Sokka asked, surprisingly without food in his mouth.

“Fine actually. I didn’t feel completely lost for once. Talking some of it through with you helped.” Zuko replied 

“Thath great!” Sokka exclaimed, this time with his mouth full. 

“I- I hope we can keep working on it together.” Zuko spoke more quietly, slightly unsure about whether or not Sokka actually wanted to keep helping him.

“Of course!” Sokka swallowed “like I said, anything you want to talk about, I’m here to help anytime. Seriously.” Sokka clapped his hand against Zuko’s shoulder

“Thanks.” Zuko turned his eyes down, not feeling like he could look at Sokka without some of those thoughts coming back. He noticed the book by Sokka’s feet, reminding him of a question he had been wanting to ask.

“Do you practice swordsmanship?” Zuko had seen the many books on sword techniques that Sokka had borrowed from the library and wondered if his friend was experienced in sword combat.

Sokka just looked at him with a confused look as he chewed his food. 

“I just- I saw the types of books you were checking out from the library, and the one you’ve got there.” Zuko clarified

“Oh… not really. I’ve always wanted to. All the warriors in my tribe are skilled swordsmen. I’ve always looked up to them. I figured maybe I could teach myself if I read up on it.” Sokka’s mood seemed to drop some as he spoke

“I thought you said you were the best warrior in your tribe?” Zuko tried to tease again, recalling that Sokka had once boasted that to him.

“Well, that wasn’t entirely true. I uh… well, I never got taught how to fight. I learned some stuff about hunting, but none of the actual combat stuff. They usually start training the boys how to be warriors when they turn twelve. But by the time I was twelve, my dad and the rest of the warriors were out fighting in the war somewhere…” Sokka looked down into his lap

“Oh, I’m sorry… I didn’t know…” Zuko felt terrible for trying to joke about something that was evidently a sore subject for his friend.

“No. It’s okay. It just feels like if I’m ever going to be a real man of the tribe, I need to know how to carry myself in combat. Especially if something bad happens again. I want to be able to protect the people I care about. I know the books can't teach me everything, but it's a start.” Sokka responded with a sadness still lingering in his voice

“I know- I mean I’ve trained in sword fighting. What if I- I could teach you. I-it wouldn't be the same as the warriors of your tribe but… I don’t know, if- if you want to…” Zuko stumbled over his words

“Really?” Sokka looked up at Zuko with wide hopefully eyes. 

“Y-yeah. I mean you’re helping me with my studying so the least I can do is try to help you too.” Zuko was startled when Sokka lunged forward, hugging him tight.

“You have no idea how much that would mean to me.” Sokka’s voice sounded significantly more excited

Zuko couldn’t fight the smile that spread across his face. He liked seeing Sokka so happy, and it felt good that he could do something to help him. Sokka released him from his grip and sat back on his spot on the wall.

“I’m honored to be your pupil Master Lee!” Sokka creased his brow as he saluted towards Zuko

“None of that, please.” Zuko swatted at Sokka’s hand to push it away from his forehead. Sokka started laughing, clearly pleased with himself for making Zuko uncomfortable. Sokka was so cute when he laughed. No wait. That wasn’t right. Sorting out his feelings was going to be hard.


End file.
